Dialysis

The journey toward a new sustainable, government-backed value-based model for kidney disease is now in year 4 with early results showing promise for the future.

Fewer patients on in-center hemodialysis used etelcalcetide after the transitional drug add-on payment adjustment ended in January 2021, according to an analysis. As a result of the policy change, many patients switched to cinacalcet, researchers found.

In April, CMS issued guidance for the inclusion of oral-only drugs in the end-stage renal disease bundled payment. The directive included Xphozah as a renal dialysis service.

Oral vadadustat three times per week was noninferior to a long-acting erythropoiesis-stimulating agent for treating anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, according to study data.

Peritonitis rates among Medicare patients initiating peritoneal dialysis in outpatient and hospital settings fell between 2009 and 2018, data show.

CMS and HHS finalized a federal rule aimed at increasing the number of kidney transplants and addressing disparities among potential organ recipients, according to a CMS press release.

Since 2017, a safety-net health care system in Texas has become a large provider of home peritoneal dialysis to mostly uninsured/undocumented Spanish-speaking patients, with good outcomes, according to data published in Kidney Medicine.

ChatGPT-4 showed promise in providing personalized nutritional guidance for patients on dialysis, but substantial improvements are necessary, according to a study published in Journal of Renal Nutrition.

SAN DIEGO — U.S. dialysis facility closures from 2018 to 2023 raise concerns about access to vital care, particularly in rural communities, according to data from ASN Kidney Week.

Older women with chronic kidney disease who take denosumab may have a higher risk for emergently treated hypocalcemia compared with those treated with bisphosphonates, according to published data.