- The Rise of Home Dialysis
The pandemic sparked patients’ interest in home hemodialysis. Those who are worried about contracting Covid-19 but are also looking for a way to improve their quality of life while dealing with kidney failure may consider this an option. In 2020, the number of patients receiving hemodialysis at home was expected to rise by 37%.
To encourage more Americans to use home dialysis, CMS has created a payment scheme that has prompted the entire industry to put its efforts into improving home dialysis technology, education, and assistance. Over the next few years, we anticipate the home dialysis market to grow dramatically due to government incentives to shift toward this option.
Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients increasingly receive treatment at home rather than in dialysis centers. To make home dialysis a success, technological advances are required to make it more user-friendly.
Why Are More People Opting For Home Dialysis?
- Improved Patient Outcomes
In contrast to hospital dialysis, home dialysis is performed more regularly and for shorter periods. A nephrologist may also advise patients to receive hemodialysis treatments more frequently, resulting in less waste and accumulation between dialysis treatments. This mimics the kidney’s natural functions, giving the patient a better quality of life. There are fewer deaths, fewer side effects, and better overall outcomes. The federal government’s Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative found that up to 85% of people on dialysis are eligible for treatment at home.
- Improved Quality of Life
The benefits of improved quality of life are the sum of all the advantages of home dialysis. Patients who switch to home dialysis from in-center dialysis benefit from better overall outcomes, increased free time, lower transportation costs, and a better understanding of their health issues due to the switch. Home dialysis patients, as a whole, have more control over their health, their time, and their daily routines. These small advantages add up to a better standard of living.
The expansion of the home hemodialysis market illustrates the necessity of staff and patient training with real-time support. Home dialysis adoption can be aided by getting more patients ready to make this decision earlier in their treatment process.
Is your dialysis center equipped to an provide at-home hemodialysis program and enough employees to meet the increasing number of patients?
If you want to stay on top of this growing trend, you should be aware of the following technological advancements:
- Tablo Hemodialysis System
Regarding dialyzing, the Tablo Hemodialysis System sets the bar high for patient convenience by giving them more flexibility over when they dialyze and how and where they dialyze. The touch screen makes it easy to understand and use and blends seamlessly into your environment.
Clinicians may safely and wirelessly access real-time patient data from Tablo devices to the cloud, allowing them to provide remote support and monitoring for this sensitive patient population.
- NxStage Home Hemodialysis Machine
This portable hemodialysis machine from Fresenius is the first and only one approved for use in the United States by the FDA and is small enough to be transported by car or plane.
In addition, Fresenius is expanding its relationship with DaVita and other dialysis firms to enable more patients to benefit from NxStage home hemodialysis.
This includes TheHub, a set of three related applications that allow patients and healthcare providers to communicate better and monitor patient treatment. Fresenius is also employing artificial intelligence to build and implement predictive models to help identify the reasons for hospitalization.
- Transitional Care Units
In-home dialysis relies heavily on TCUs. TCUs are more likely to influence new dialysis patients to opt for home dialysis because they provide them with comprehensive information about all treatment options. Patients who undergo a TCU eventually choose a home modality in 40 percent of cases, according to FMCNA.
When it comes to staff-aided home dialysis care, every step must be taken to holistically help individuals, overcoming the hurdles to home-based care on the levels of economics, physicality, and empathy.
The Increased Need for Registered Dialysis Nurses
Home dialysis requires training. The length of training varies depending on the type of dialysis, type of equipment, and the protocols of the care team. Nephrologists, Advanced practice nurses (APNs) & Registered Nurses are imperative to this team. Medicare-certified home dialysis training facilities have knowledgeable, experienced nephrologists and nurses to ensure the success of the home dialysis program. Implementing techniques to promote nurse retention, with the ultimate goal of creating or expanding your home dialysis training team would include:
- Dealing with fundamental causes of nursing shortages in nephrology settings
- Realizing that Increasing demand for home therapies requires a broader range of staff
Current regulations allow a wider team of clinicians to comprise a home training team for which the nurse practitioner (NP) has oversight and delegated responsibility. Due to the recent increased need for a nephrologist to care for the ESRD population, recent reports have advocated the use of advanced practice nurses (APN) to collaborate with nephrologists to meet increasing patient care demands. Clinical evidence has supported the financial and clinical advantages of APN utilization in nephrology.
Bottom Line
It’s no secret that home dialysis treatments and the accompanying Home Dialysis Registered Nurse (HDRN) supervision and the entire care team are in high demand. In-home dialysis therapy necessitates a unique set of skills for the Home Dialysis Registered Nurse which includes:
- Overseeing the training and care of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) and Home Hemodialysis (HHD) patients.
- Providing training, retraining, education, & nursing care to the home dialysis patients
- Supervision for the Home Dialysis Technicians in the home dialysis department
We Are Your One-Stop Solution For Filling Your Dialysis Staffing Gaps
Dialysis facilities across the United States will benefit significantly from the expertise of Onyx & Jasper Healthcare. We are a dialysis staffing and recruiting agency specializing in placing travel hemodialysis healthcare professionals, including all medical positions necessary to staff or grow your home dialysis team.
In addition to filling home dialysis and dialysis facility needs, we also credential and place nurses of all disciplines within hospitals and clinics. Call us today to talk to one of our Staffing Strategists to see how we can help with your staffing needs.