COST OF HAEMODIALYSIS PORTABLE MACHINES

Anonymous · February 15, 2006, 05:38 AM

Can anyone tell me what the purchase price is of a good haemodialysis portable machine. I have read about the Allient and the NxStage one.
Is the Aksys PHD PORTABLE available yet to purchase. What are the cost of the consumables relative to the different machines. Does anyone know if the consumables are readily available in South Africa.
Heather

Anonymous · February 15, 2006, 06:24 AM

The Allient hasn't been FDA approved for sale in the US yet. To the best of my knowledge trials for home use haven't been started yet.

**Gus** · February 15, 2006, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by HEATHER

Can anyone tell me what the purchase price is of a good haemodialysis portable machine. I have read about the Allient and the NxStage one.
Is the Aksys PHD PORTABLE available yet to purchase. What are the cost of the consumables relative to the different machines. Does anyone know if the consumables are readily available in South Africa.
Heather

I'd say a brand new NxStage System One costs between $15,000 - $25,000...without supplies.........

**Cathy S** · February 15, 2006, 04:26 PM

I was told the NxStage is up to $42,000, I'd love to know for sure.

Cathy

**beachy** · February 15, 2006, 07:34 PM

Wow!
Call me ignorant but do you guys have to pay for these or are they covered by government and /or private health cover? :shock:

**Beth Witten MSW ACSW** · February 15, 2006, 09:35 PM

We have quite a bit of information on Medicare coverage of home dialysis at http://www.homedialysis.org/v1/medicare/. We don't have information on commercial coverage of home dialysis because that varies from plan to plan. Your policy and plan customer service should be able to explain coverage.

In the U.S. no one needs to buy a dialysis machine to do home dialysis. I suspect that very few people have purchased their home hemo machine. Part of the reason why it might not be the best thing to do even if you have the money is that you'd be stuck with that machine when new machines come out.

Anonymous · February 16, 2006, 02:53 AM

In South Africa, the situation is that a patient has to be assessed as to whether he/she is a candidate for a transplant. If they are not a candidate for a kidney transplant the general hospitals give you 2 weeks notice that they will no longer continue with dialysis. This means that you have to find your own funding or seek financial assistance from your own medical aid, and full costs are not covered.
From one response it seems that purchasing a machine may not be a good idea. Does anyone know if NxStage one is available in South Africa for rent, and who the suppliers are?
Heather

**Beth Witten MSW ACSW** · February 16, 2006, 04:45 PM

Boy, I didn't know that the health system in S Africa only pays for dialysis if you are a candidate for a transplant. I'll remember that the next time I'm unhappy with how the U.S. government pays for care. Do the hospitals in S Africa have social workers to help you find other funding? In the U.S. there are social workers in hospitals and in dialysis clinics and transplant programs.

I would kind of be surprised if NxStage is selling or renting machines outside the U.S. at this point, but you could email them from the contact us email form on http://www.nxstage.com.

There are companies that sell refurbished dialysis equipment that they have bought from clinics that upgraded or for some reason don't need those machines now. If funding is an issue this might be something to consider. G.I.A. Medical at http://www.giamedical.com and Wil-Med at http://www.wilmedglobal.com/ are two companies that I've heard of that do this.

Peritoneal dialysis may be cheaper -- and possibly easier to do with the shorter training time and no need for changes to the home for plumbing or electrical work or having a water treatment system. You can do PD manually (CAPD) or with a machine (CCPD or APD). CAPD in the U.S. costs clinics less because it doesn't require a machine.

I found a fee schedule on the Dept of Health website for S Africa for those that private pay and it looks like PD may be cheaper. The question is whether the amount listed is per day for PD as it is per session for HD.
http://www.doh.gov.za/programmes/upf...riffs-full.pdf

Anonymous · February 16, 2006, 11:33 PM

Thansks for your response Beth. Will look up the website that you gave me. Unfortunately my sister is not a candidate for peritoneal dyalysis as she has had a lot of abdominal surgery. The social workers here do not help with finding funding. You are very much on your own here.
I contacted Adcock Ingram in South Africa. They offer the Tina hemodialysis machine for home use, but it costs in the region of R13,000 to R15,000 to put in a purified water system into the house. As my sister is only renting and I'm hoping to bring her down to Cape Town at the end of the year, the cost just does not seem to be worth it for such a short period. Do you know which other hemodialysis machines do not need the installation of a purified water system?

**Gus** · February 17, 2006, 03:15 AM

Originally Posted by HEATHER

Thansks for your response Beth. Will look up the website that you gave me. Unfortunately my sister is not a candidate for peritoneal dyalysis as she has had a lot of abdominal surgery. The social workers here do not help with finding funding. You are very much on your own here.
I contacted Adcock Ingram in South Africa. They offer the Tina hemodialysis machine for home use, but it costs in the region of R13,000 to R15,000 to put in a purified water system into the house. As my sister is only renting and I'm hoping to bring her down to Cape Town at the end of the year, the cost just does not seem to be worth it for such a short period. Do you know which other hemodialysis machines do not need the installation of a purified water system?

My goodness, I also was not a good candidate for PD........

Have you tried contacting NxStage with your situation? I wonder whether NxStage would be kind enough to expand their market in other countries..........