Out of the cartridges that I have received from Nx Stage this month, fifteen of these cartridges have had to be thrown in the trash. I know of other patients that have had serious problems with this system. I think the time has come to contact your insurance company or Medicare to withhold payments or have the government put some heat on these people to get them to perform their job. Once, NxStage jerked me around for five months over my PureFlow. These people need a fire under their rear ends. The way to motivate these people is to hit them in the wallet.
Sadly, some, if not most, clinics and machine companies do jerk patients around. This will continue to be the case unless patients present a united front. There have been a few isolated efforts on the state level of patients banning together to improve patient care, but nothing has ever taken off on a national scale. With more and more patients going into home txs with machines like NxStage, it’s essential that we accomplish what in-center patients have never achieved- the establishment of a voice as valued customers. A new public forum called NxStagerUsers.com is up and running. There is a section for comments/complaints. Not too many ppl are posting yet, but it’s growing steadily. The forum has no connection to NxStage, yet it is open to NxStage to view or take part in. Feel free to check it out.
I know that what you are saying is true. I, along with numerous others, got faulty cartridges for an excessive length of time. I reported it many times as did others. After a very long time, NxStage has now come out with a revised version of their C-170 cartridge that appears to have addressed all of the cartridge issues. There can be problems with the pureflow or cycler that don’t get handled properly. Why not voice your constructive criticism where hopefully, in time, it will count and make a difference as the growing numbers of home patients become more pro-active.
Thanks for the website, that is outstanding. Again, the only way these people will be motivated is if we hit them in the wallet. My time is just as valuable as their time, I have obligations, also. Imagine if any other group of customers where treated as dialysis patients are treated, that group would be driven out of business. I know that the kidney belt will be ready in a few years, then NxStage will be out of business, what a crying shame.
I’m sure it is frustrating finding supplies or equipment you received don’t work like they should. When NxStage cartridges have a problem and the company provides new ones to patients, that hits the company in the pocketbook because NxStage can’t charge anyone for the replacement supplies or equipment.
If you want to be sure that your complaints are addressed, it’s more important to contact the company than to post complaints on a community forum that NxStage personnel may or may not see. I’ve worked in dialysis for >30 years and I can tell you that every dialysis company has had defective supplies and/or equipment. Some good companies have gone out of business leaving patients without equipment that they liked. Ask Bill Peckham about Aksys.
[QUOTE=Beth Witten MSW ACSW;17639]I’m sure it is frustrating finding supplies or equipment you received don’t work like they should. When NxStage cartridges have a problem and the company provides new ones to patients, that hits the company in the pocketbook because NxStage can’t charge anyone for the replacement supplies or equipment.
If you want to be sure that your complaints are addressed, it’s more important to contact the company than to post complaints on a community forum that NxStage personnel may or may not see. I’ve worked in dialysis for >30 years and I can tell you that every dialysis company has had defective supplies and/or equipment. Some good companies have gone out of business leaving patients without equipment that they liked. Ask Bill Peckham about Aksys.[/QUOTE]
I know and realize that every company has issues. It seems that the dialysis industry has more issues than most fields.
It’s unfortunate when anyone gets any product that doesn’t work like it should. I could be wrong, but I believe overall the dialysis industry provides safe products. That’s not to say that a machine here or there might have problems requiring maintenance or one lot of some type of supplies could have manufacturing defects. The true test of a company is how it addresses the problem.
[QUOTE=The true test of a company is how it addresses the problem.[/QUOTE]
So far in my experience of being a home patient, I find that the same attitude that occurs in-center so often, occurs with the machine company. Some of the service is good, but it is not consistent, and when there are real problems, they act like “what problem?”. Consumers are not stupid and we know when we are being bluffed off. We know when we are being lied to because the company is looking out for it’s liability. Certainly they must protect their liability, but they must be forthcoming. They play this game, because they know they have either little or no competition. In my business dealings, if a company is dishonest, they are history! When it comes to dialysis, they know they have a captive audience if you know what I mean. Well, it pays to be honest, because the day will come when competitors come along and how one was treated will be remembered.
[QUOTE=Beth Witten MSW ACSW;17644]It would be interesting to have a side-by-side comparison of recalls in the dialysis industry compared with recalls in other industries.
It’s unfortunate when anyone gets any product that doesn’t work like it should. I could be wrong, but I believe overall the dialysis industry provides safe products. That’s not to say that a machine here or there might have problems requiring maintenance or one lot of some type of supplies could have manufacturing defects. The true test of a company is how it addresses the problem.[/QUOTE]
I agree. I do not believe they are unsafe, just annoying. My time is important just as their time is important. Believe it or not, I do other things than just dialysis.
Exactly, what do these people think will happen when the HD+ machine and Xcorporeal machine are ready for the market? In addition, in a few years, the Wearable, Artificial Kidney (WAK) will be ready for the market. Then, these people will be getting a taste of their own medicine. I have worked as a provider and patient, the arrogance is this industry is beyond belief.
There’s many a slip 'twixt cup & lip in the pipeline dialysis biz. XCorporeal, for example, which is working on the WAK (wearable artificial kidney), recently laid off 73% of its staff. (http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?capId=3601927. That will slow them down. Aksys was “coming soon” for about 8 years before it finally came on the market. There will eventually be competition, but none of us can predict exactly when…
Good customer support builds loyalty in ANY industry, and we encourage folks to go directly to the company they are having challenges with and work with them to resolve the issue.
A while back , I think Rick and Eric were talking about issues with nxstage products… I too have problems with nxstage. When I get the chance I talk to a nxstage rep. and they reassure me things are going to get better. They really isn’t much a person can do, we need the machines and since they are prone to problems .we have to be ready for crash mood. I’ve read that nxstage is holding back on things. It might just be me ,but since davita hooked up with them the QC dept has been shipped over seas… .
What is being voiced here is, patient customers DO go straight to the companies, but we get the royal runaround! We are straight with them, but they’re not straight with us. This should be obvious from the discussion here. It will never change unless advocacy groups step in and force protections for patient customers.
I’m not sure but ,I think Bill and Rich and others are looking into a real dialysis consumer group. Who don’t pull punches… The group or groups that are out that in THEORY should be looking out for both the company and Dialysis consumer… It is insane in 2009 that people who just what to live,must put up with what dialysis consumers put up, we happen to be least able to travel. I’m talking about for training , then not be able to see a Dr in our area. I’m not sure what Bill and Rich are really doing, from a post on here ,I gather the two email , or talk on wkly time line. Maybe Bill Or Rich , Eric, maybe someone can help us.
But HDC is one way we who home can talk to each other about the things we are finding we would like to see change… Today change needs #'s of people or to get the ear of the media. Part of our problem(dialysis consumer) here on this board is we can’t find common values. We talked before as to what we want, so we need to come up with a top ten list. But we still need ###'s. Congress will not hear us if davita and nxstage and the rest have med pac, plus separate pac;s and $$$ to get access t
o the people who can made change…
The thing with nxstage I think the problem is that nxstage has now shipped out the work on items to Mexico. Why , ? nxstage won’t let people outside the country to use the products. So the company has us hooked… We like the machine in that it has opened home hemo , in a way that was long overdue.
oh well must run dialysis center day, so much for the rest of my day…