Home Dialysis made Earthlink Health news today!

Hi y’all,

We’re always happy when news about home dialysis reaches the general public, and today is one of those days! There’s a long story about home dialysis on Earthlink’s health news called “Technology Makes Home Dialysis Possible:”

http://start.earthlink.net/article/hea?guid=20050711/42d1eec0_3421_1334520050711-1387906414

The only thing it’s missing is a link to Home Dialysis Central! I hope folks will find us anyway, though… :smiley:

Hurrah, hurrah!! \0/ \0/ \0/ …and it’s a genuine NxStage!! Woohoo…k,k,k,…am settling down now. That story is a proof of concept of how that little strong machine can be hauled anywhere you want, well almost anywhere… :stuck_out_tongue:

The article also talks about the Aksys PhD and even about PD! There are quotes from Dr. Crooks, at Kaiser Permanente (Southern California) and Dr. Briggs at NIH. I thought they did a nice job of covering the issues. (Except for leaving out a link to us, of course! :roll:

As is often the case with news reports, it often tends to be based on company press releases more than real reporting, and there are usually a number of inaccuracies that you can spot when you know the subject yourself.

The article makes it sound like home hemodialysis is a new thing, only recently made possible by NxStage and others. Of course we all know that home hemodialysis has been possible and put into practice for decades. The limitation has never been the machines, but rather the system of reimbursement.

I take exception with the statement “A spouse or other helper is required in case of problems”. This is not the case at all. There are many short daily and daily nocturnal who dialyze alone without any helper as we speak.

I would also like to dispell the oft-repeated notion that anything other than a NxStage requires a special electrical outlet. My dialysis machine uses ordinary 120 volt household power, the same as a table lamp. The only thing different is that the outlet has to be on its own circuit (to prevent the circuit breaker going off during treatment) and it has a GFI breaker like the outlet in your bathroom.

Pierre

Hi Pierre,

I agree–home dialysis is not new. But it’s still news, because most people have never heard of it. In the most recent study that we know of that covers modality awareness (1996), fewer than one in four American in-center hemo patients had ever heard of PD or home hemo. In this country, 92% of new patients started on in-center hemo in the most recent year for data (2002).

So, anything that raises awareness among the general public that there are other options is a plus, and we can straighten out the details later if something is inaccurate (of course, it would be best to be accurate upfront!). If people don’t know these treatments exist, they can’t choose them.

Did you read this part of the article? What exactly do they mean there? That some clinics are not too happy about this home dialysis revolution? :lol:

“Anybody who takes care of dialysis patients isn’t happy with what we do,” says Dr. Michael Kraus, dialysis chief at Indiana University School of Medicine, citing high rates of illness and death with today’s thrice-a-week approach.

Did you read this part of the article? What exactly do they mean there? That some clinics are not too happy about this home dialysis revolution?.

No, I think this means just the opposite–that nephrologists are realizing that in-center hemo three times a week causes many symptoms (ups-and-downs, heart problems, cramps) and “compliance” issues related to not being able to follow the diet & fluid limits, etc. Getting longer and/or more frequent dialysis is better–and this is generally easier to do at home.

Hi y’all,

I hate to answer myself, but I just thought of something. The article about home dialysis was actually an Associated Press article–it was picked up by newspapers all across the country, including mine. So, this would be a great time to write a letter to the editor of your local paper about how home dialysis has changed your life for the better (or about how you wish it was available in your area…). Be sure to mention this site as a resource! :smiley:

You can easily find contact information for your local paper (or TV or radio station) right here on Home Dialysis Central. Under the “Legislative Action Center” media guide http://capwiz.com/meiresearch/dbq/media/, fill in your zip code. Click “GO” in the same pink box that you filled in your zip code. You’ll get a whole list of news contacts to write to or call. Let us know if you do this!

I got an okay for an Hispanic news press, they want at least 300 words from me…ewww… :? I’d rather have someone else who writes intelligently about me like a mini biography…

If I do it I need to think it out carefully… :roll:

Yes I saw it also on Yahoo! News and it actually made my little home town newspaper. Stories like this will slowly sink in not only the average public, but soon more and more nephrologists. It will take time and but hopefully the government will not wait around for the NIH study and pass HR 3096.
In my area, Taunton and Brockton Massachusetts has a home hemo program. Not Nocturnal, and the last time I talked with our former trainning nurse, no onne had been trained since my S.O and I had in 2001. I don’t know what that says, lack of staff initiative or promotion or lack of patient initiative. As I remeber the ppulation in Taunto Kidney Center (FMC) was older. But te neph is fantastic and I couldn’t say more good things about him.
Home training pix from 2001 http://groups.msn.com/DialysisTransplantCity/jfwagshomehemotraining.msnw?Page=3

Well, here’s my try…I sent a pic to but I guess they forgot to put it…oh well, anyway, you’ll either hate it or love it… :stuck_out_tongue:

http://www.el-observador.com/health.htm

Ya, I also included a link to this site… :roll: