Home Dialysis News

This year, PCORI, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, awarded a $6.7 million, five-year grant to two professors from the University of Michigan School of Public Health to do a study entitled "Enhancing the Cardiovascular Safety of Hemodialysis Care: A Cluster-Randomized, Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Multimodal Provider Education and Patient Activation Interventions." It deals primarily with educating dialysis patients and training providers on how to ensure 'patient stability' during the in-center dialysis treatment by properly removing excess fluid and avoiding cardiac damage in the process. 1

A need to fill excess capacity, brought on by an overbuild of dialysis clinics in the last 25 years, along with better profit margins for in-center patients, has led providers to de-emphasize home dialysis, a new report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office says. In addition, nephrologists feel that they should get paid the same each month for patient care whether a patient is dialyzing at home or in-center.

Payment reform led to a decline in home hemodialysis patients in the United States, according to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2015.

Two studies presented at ASN Kidney Week demonstrate a higher mortality rate for home hemodialysis patients compared to kidney transplant recipients. Previous studies have found that kidney failure patients on long-term dialysis tend to die earlier than patients who receive kidney transplants; however, none of these studies have considered death rates in U.S. patients using alternative forms of dialysis such as home hemodialysis.

Mortality rates among dialysis patients dropped significantly from 2007 to 2012, with corresponding drops in hospital admission rates, according to analyses presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week.

José Almeida has some homework to do before taking over as chairman and CEO of Baxter International in January. Almeida, 53, is replacing Robert Parkinson Jr., who is retiring after serving as the company's CEO for over 10 years. Almeida's appointment as chairman and CEO will take effect at the beginning of 2016.

Swiss medical device developer Debiotech SA, and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. have partnered to develop a portfolio of peritoneal technologies, the companies announced today.

Baxter Healthcare recognized the value of simplifying the mechanics of peritoneal dialysis with AMIA, its new automated peritoneal dialysis machine.

The National Kidney Foundation and the University of Michigan are launching a new $6.7 million study, spearheaded by the University of Michigan, to improve cardiovascular safety in hemodialysis patients. The study will include training dialysis staff and patients to make dialysis sessions safer for patients.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible illegal collusion by saline solution manufacturers. The U.S. has had a shortage of saline solution since 2013, and the Senators noted that the three companies that provide all of the saline solution in the U.S. — Baxter International, Hospira, and B.Braun—have failed to end the shortage, but have raised prices by 200 to 300%.