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.
PD in the Elderly—Wouldn’t SLOW and LOW Make More Sense?
(7 comments)
When someone starts PD, they tend to have a reasonable amount of residual kidney function . So, why do we start them out with four exchanges a day?
Published on 10/16/2014 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
A Creative Way to Find a Home HD Care Partner
(23 comments)
Do you want to do dialysis at home, but don’t have a care partner? Here’s a way I found that worked for me. I created a home dialysis nurse training program run out of my home.
Published on 10/09/2014 by Lana Schmidt
Tags: home hemodialysis,
That Strange Dialysis Conundrum - Selection bias .. 'Cherry picking' .. or Optimum HD for those who can
(14 comments)
Dialysis – indeed, the whole modality realm of renal replacement – presents us with a strange conundrum.
Published on 10/02/2014 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: discussion, information, education, care, patients,
Home Hemodialysis vs. Transplant: The Elephant in the Room
(10 comments)
Rather than focus on transplant alone as “ the treatment of choice,” why not focus on getting as many people as possible more kidney replacement therapy?
Published on 09/25/2014 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
Tags: transplant, dialysis, kidney replacement therapy, quality of life,
What’s in a Name? Person-centered Dialysis Language
(12 comments)
We've all heard that sing-song phrase as kids, right? Too bad it’s never been true. Names can hurt. Language, especially medical language, is often not neutral...
Published on 09/18/2014 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
The Global Environmental Impact of Dialysis—Go Green for Planet Earth
(2 comments)
No single healthcare individual exerts a greater impact on the environment than does a dialysis patient: recurrently, relentlessly, on an ongoing basis...
Published on 09/10/2014 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: green, environmental impact, dialysis,
Are We Limiting Access to Home Dialysis for Patients with Impairments?
(4 comments)
If we say we’re assessing each patient’s candidacy for home dialysis, we need to stop setting limits on patients who may learn a little differently or may take a little more effort.
Published on 09/04/2014 by Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW
Tags: home dialysis, care, impairments, training,
Compliance is a Dirty Word
(16 comments)
A power differential can be a dangerous thing. And, requiring “compliance” in healthcare instantly creates such a power differential.
Published on 08/28/2014 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
Tags: patient-centered care, patient engagement, care,
Will Starting Dialysis “Fix” Heart Dysfunction?
(2 comments)
“…my eGFR is between 12 and 14%, but my nephrologist feels it is not accurate. I've read that Cystatin C is a better indicator of kidney function, especially in women. Is this so?"
Published on 08/21/2014 by Dr. John Agar
Tags: acute kidney failure, dialysis, chronic kidney disease,
"My Labs are Great! But…”
(6 comments)
At least every week or two, a dialysis consumer on Facebook says, “my labs are great, but…” To me, it appears that what is going on is too great of a focus on the numbers—and not nearly enough on the individuals or the likely causes of their symptoms
Published on 08/14/2014 by Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute