Use of hemodialysis technicians may improve home-based care
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Assigning a certified clinical hemodialysis technician to assist the primary registered nurse improved care delivery for patients receiving home dialysis, according to research presented at the Annual Dialysis Conference.
“Home dialysis programs require team members with specialized skills to be successful and utilize nurses for the bulk of this care,” Gale Schulke, RN, clinical manager at Satellite Healthcare, and colleagues wrote in a poster abstract.
They argued hemodialysis technicians, already routinely utilized for in-center care, could also improve care delivery for home-based therapies. Therefore, they investigated what role the technician might play in supporting dialysis nurses by assigning a technician to assist the nurse in either PD or home hemodialysis during a period of 12 months. They considered measures related to care delivery, efficiency and workflow, finding the addition of the technician improved both clinic and home visit efciencies. In addition, training time for home patients decreased from a mean of 5.5 weeks to 3 weeks.
“[Certified clinical hemodialysis technician] CCHT assistance for home therapy patients has been successful in providing technical expertise, clinical care and workow efciencies,” the researchers wrote. “While the role of the in-center CCHT is well dened, the introduction of a CCHT in home needs determination. This experience demonstrated how effective the role of CCHT in home therapies can be.” - by Melissa J. Webb
Reference:
Schulke G, et al. Utilization of a certied clinical hemodialysis technician (CCHT) for home-based dialysis programs. Presented at: The Annual Dialysis Conference; Feb. 8-11, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri.
Disclosure: Schulke reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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