KidneyViews
Welcome to the non-profit Medical Education Institute's Home Dialysis Central blogspot! This page is an umbrella under which Home Dialysis Central staff and guests can share their perspectives about home therapies and what we need to do to raise their profile and enable more people to use them. We'd like your comments as well! Bookmark our site and like us on Facebook! Help us tell the world about home dialysis.
We have a "lifestyle bible" for sale that can help you learn about dialysis options. Help, I Need Dialysis! We also have prepared some slideshows on how to have a good future with kidney disease.
Patient Grievances & How to Proactively Avoid Them
(5 comments)
CMS expects the corporate leadership and clinic management to encourage patients and staff to feel safe from reprisal when voicing suggestions and/or concerns.
Published on 07/05/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: Education issues: for patients and professionals, Making dialysis better,
The Keys to Nocturnal Home Hemo
(0 comments)
One of the problems I keep returning to in response to so many of the things people write about nocturnal dialysis is the variability of the beast we try to pigeonhole as one single modality. In reality, it is as variable,
Published on 06/28/2018 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: How dialysis works, Other ‘cool stuff’ to help understand dialysis better,
Kidney Failure is Bad News—But, Dialysis is GOOD News
(5 comments)
Of course, no one wants to tell a patient that the steps they’ve been taking to slow the progression of CKD are no longer working, and kidney function has dropped to the point where renal replacement therapy is needed.
Published on 06/21/2018 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
Tags: Making dialysis better, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
Shared Decision-Making & Patient-Centered Care
(1 comments)
If a patient is interested in PD and can do it with or without family support, it might be best to wait until GFR is lower and symptoms adversely affect lifestyle.
Published on 06/14/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: Making dialysis better, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
My Transplant Journey
(1 comments)
As a child, I was in and out of the Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane. I used to get bad UTI's and was diagnosed with chronic reflux at the age of 6
Published on 06/07/2018 by Russell (Rusty) Hamilton
Tags: Making dialysis better, Other ‘cool stuff’ to help understand dialysis better,
The Joys and Cruelties of Medical Invention and Treatment Innovation
(5 comments)
One could argue that in the whole firmament of medical research, there is no greater tease than the search for a wearable, portable, implantable, bionic, or immunologically-neutral but transplantable kidney
Published on 05/31/2018 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: Choosing the right path through ‘The System’, Education issues: for patients and professionals, Other ‘cool stuff’ to help understand dialysis better,
Caring for Home Dialysis Care Partners
(3 comments)
There is limited research on dialysis care partner burden. The Frequent Hemodialysis (HD) Network (FHN) Trial randomly assigned patients to the following conditions
Published on 05/24/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: Making dialysis better, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
HHD & Rock & Roll!
(3 comments)
As an extremely engaged spouse and now official Care Partner, I have spent the better part of the past 13 years advocating for my husband’s health.
Published on 05/17/2018 by Corlyn Altier
Tags: Making dialysis better, What is the best dialysis option for me,
Why to NOT Ask “Have You Thought About Home Dialysis?”
(8 comments)
The problem with this approach—however well-meaning—is that it puts the modality first, as if the home treatment is a goal.
Published on 05/10/2018 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
Tags: Making dialysis better, What is the best dialysis option for me, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
The Power of Positive Words
(14 comments)
What was abundantly clear was that if any two words should be used with greater care—or, arguably, not used at all—they are compliance and failure. One is pejorative; the other de-values.
Published on 05/03/2018 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: Making dialysis better,