Mitigation of Roadblocks to Home Dialysis

There are major practical barriers to home dialysis that originate at an institutional or government level, including reimbursement, challenges related to COVID-19, and more. 

Two specific examples include vascular or peritoneal catheter placement and payment disparity (between in-center and home dialysis modalities), which are largely institutional or governmental in origin.1 Limited access to the procedures to place the catheters needed to enable PD has long been a challenge in many countries.

Take-Action Resources 

Article: Economic Benefits of Increased Home Dialysis Utilization and Innovation By Alex Brill

An article about the economic benefits of increased home dialysis utilization and innovation. The piece also examines the underutilization of home dialyisis modalities in the United States. https://homedialysis.org/documents/spotlight/mga_home_dialysis_paper_for_release.pdf

Article: Home Dialysis in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era

An article about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hemodialysis and home dialysis. The article examines data regarding advantages to home dialysis, as well as looking at telehealth and remote monitoring technologies. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1548559520301117

EKHA Open Letter: 5 key recommendations to improve prevention, treatment & care of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in the aftermath of COVID-19.

EKHA Webinar: Getting EU Health Systems to Be Home Centric

A webinar created to encourage home dialysis in EU health systems

Article: Fighting the unbearable lightness of neglecting kidney health: the decade of the kidney

An editorial published in the Clinical Kidney Journal about comprehensive elements constituting the burden of kidney disease, intended for advocacy to reduce said burden. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34221379/

Approved article: “Advocating for Health Equity in Kidney Care: An Urgent Need”

A National Kidney Foundation Advocacy Brief outlining the urgent need for health equity, specifically with regard to kidney care. The article focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the need for emphasized health equity in the U.S. https://www.kidneymedicinejournal.org/article/S2590-0595(21)00181-3/fulltext

Approved article: PD paper

An article focusing on access to peritoneal dialysis and discussing peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion techniques, barriers impacting the procedure, the pandemic’s effect, and possible policy solutions. https://academic.oup.com/ckj/article/15/12/2177/6584865

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  1. Cullis B., Lalya F., Smoyer W. Saving more young lives in Africa. Perit Dial Int. 2020; 40: 438-440.[↩]