Healthcare 2017, 5(4), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare5040090
Home Hemodialysis (HHD) Treatment as an Effective yet Underutilized Treatment Modality in the United States
Jihane J. Hajj 1 and Krzysztof Laudanski 2,*
1
School of Nursing, Widener University, One University Pl, Chester, PA 19013, USA
2
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3650 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Joanne Reid and Helen Noble
Received: 13 October 2017 / Revised: 9 November 2017 / Accepted: 17 November 2017 / Published: 28 November 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socio-Economic Impact of End Stage Kidney Disease)
Abstract
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a major health burden and its incidence has been increasing yearly reaching 120,000 cases in 2014. Home hemodialysis (HHD) is a treatment modality option that has been shown to contribute to numerous clinical benefits but is largely underutilized due to many contributing factors. The purpose of this review paper is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of HHD and the reasons for its low utilization with a special focus on its socioeconomic impact as compared to facility hemodialysis. Key factors contributing to HHD underutilization are related to the reimbursement system of the facility and nephrologists as well as the underutilization of the pre-dialysis educational benefit. Based on this comprehensive review of the literature, we propose several suggestions which may contribute to the expansion of HHD treatment modality. View Full-Text
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Hajj, J.J.; Laudanski, K. Home Hemodialysis (HHD) Treatment as an Effective yet Underutilized Treatment Modality in the United States. Healthcare 2017, 5, 90.
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