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.
Why Home Hemodialysis?
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Many people ask me why I choose to do home hemodialysis. To me the answer is quite simple.
Published on 03/01/2018 by Kamal Shah
Tags: Making dialysis better,
Pain Management in Home Dialysis
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The authors found that 60%+ of dialysis patients were prescribed one or more opioids each year, and 20% had at least one 90-day prescription each year.
Published on 02/22/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
RPA’s New Position Paper on Increasing Dialysis Options is Music to My Ears—Now We Need a Chorus!
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I can’t help suspecting that if the nephrology leadership like the RPA and the CMOs teamed up with patient advocate groups like Home Dialyzors United and AAKP to approach CMS…we just might get where we need U.S. dialysis to be.
Published on 02/15/2018 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
Enhancing Shared Decision Making & Avoiding “Hostage Bargaining Syndrome”
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Today, people in healthcare speak of “patient engagement,” “partnership in care,” and “shared decision-making.” A new study has identified a barrier to all of these efforts:
Published on 02/08/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: Making dialysis better, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
An Australian Home Dialyzor Travels to Thailand: Part 2
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First, I checked places I was travelling to for a hospital, then I looked to see if they had a nephrologist. If they did, there was a good chance that there would be dialysis.
Published on 02/01/2018 by Malcolm Macdonald
An Australian Home Dialyzor Travels to Thailand: Part 1
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I could not believe that I could find this at my stage of life. It made me want to live forever.
Published on 01/24/2018 by Malcolm Macdonald
The Elusive Dry Weight: A Dialyzor’s Lessons Learned
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Don’t just sit in your chair and let someone who may, or may not, understand the complexities of UF, and how it relates to your body leave you cramping, crashing or collapsing post treatment.
Published on 01/18/2018 by Nieltje Gedney
Tags: Making dialysis better, Education issues: for patients and professionals,
Mythbusting! Do Nephrologists Really Make Less Money Seeing Home Dialysis Patients?
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In 2010, an MEI study found that while 92% of patients did in-center hemodialysis (HD), just 6% of nephrologists would choose that option if their own kidneys failed.
Published on 01/11/2018 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: Choosing the right path through ‘The System’ , Education issues: for patients and professionals,
Don’t Flog the Fistulas: Slow Hemodialysis Blood Flow!
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The use of excessively high blood flow rates (read "pump speed") during dialysis—flow rates of upwards of 350 ml/minute—appears to be a US-only phenomenon (read "tragedy").
Published on 01/04/2018 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: Making dialysis better , Education issues: for patients and professionals,
Emergency Planning for Home Therapies
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The 2017 hurricane season brought many storms, including Harvey, Irma, and Maria, to name a few. ...Below are some key points for planning before, during, and following a hurricane.
Published on 12/21/2017 by Patrice Zyry, BSN, RN, CNN