Emerging research shows promise for the expansion of the home dialysis market. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found that patients with failing kidneys in need of dialysis will do equally well whether they perform PD at home or seek treatment at a dialysis center. The study is the largest of its kind to date and was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Baxter Healthcare Corporation.

The OEM believes “the future of the dialysis market lies in the home,” said Shader.

Industry unites to curb CVCs

Despite advancements in technology, the U.S. ESRD patient population has one of the highest mortality rates in the world. Experts say the predominant use of central venous catheters among hemodialysis patients is a major contributor to the high mortality rate.

This summer, the Renal Physicians Association, major dialysis companies and other stakeholders launched the Vascular Access Initiative, a collaborative effort that aims to improve the rate of CVC use among hemodialysis patients.
In an e-mail to DOTmed News, Dr. Edward Jones, president of RPA, wrote that CVCs have been shown to increase Medicare costs and are associated with high infection and hospitalization rates. Jones said 82 percent of patients start dialysis with a catheter and 74 percent of patients, who are followed by a nephrologist for more than six months, initiate hemodialysis with a CVC. The VAI strives to change these statistics.

“Our effort is to provide tools to nephrologists to work to eradicate CVCs particularly in incident dialysis patients,” Jones said.

The goal of the initiative is to reduce the percentage of patients who start dialysis with a CVC by 10 percent annually, with an ultimate goal of less than 10 percent catheter use in the typical dialysis patient population. It also aims to reduce the percentage of patients followed by a nephrologist for more than six months, who start dialysis with a CVC, by 20 percent every year.
Jones said approximately 40 percent of patients start dialysis without seeing a nephrologist and lack the proper education on the available treatment options. RPA believes that nephrologists must play a key role in reducing the high levels of catheter use among patients.

As providers strive to cut down on the rate of CVC use and unravel the new ESRD PPS, collaboration between dialysis stakeholders promises to be a regular occurrence in the industry.

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