Renal Kidney Dialysis: Are US Programs Inferior?

USA Today recently published a very interesting article about renal kidney dialysis for patients with kidney failure. The article appeared in its 8/24/09 edition. The post that follows is a synopsis.

• *Recent research seems to indicate that dialysis that's done more often and for longer periods is more beneficial to patients with renal challenges.
• *Its cost for Americans has been much greater than originally projected.
• *Medicare's End Stage Renal Disease Program, which has been in operation since 1973, has come under fire from some quarters. This Federal program provides health-care coverage people of any ages to if they're suffering from chronic kidney failure.
• *In 2007, Medicare spent $8.6 billion on the treatment and medications of dialysis patients, but 20.1% of U.S. dialysis patients died, often from complications involving other organs. Australia's death rate was about 15% and Japan's was approximately 10 percent.
• *Additionally, less than 25 percent of dialysis patients between the ages 18 and 54 are well enough to work or go to school. Many people argue that quality of life for kidney dialysis patients in the US is also lower than for patients in other countries.
• *Some sources in the US say foreign death rates are lower because socialized medicine programs withhold renal dialysis for the oldest, sickest patients. Foreign doctors deny that such rationing exists.

See our related article on types of kidney dialysis procedures.
 

 
Would you like to learn more about kidney dialysis? Type a keyword or phrase into the box below and click on "Search" 

Custom Search  
 

 

  Kidney Problems RSS Feed