scholarly journals High Costs of Dialysis Transportation in the United States: Exploring Approaches to a More Cost-effective Delivery System

10.36469/9861 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mark Stephens ◽  
Samuel Brotherton ◽  
Stephan C. Dunning ◽  
Larry C. Emerson ◽  
David T. Gilbertson ◽  
...  

Background: The costs of transporting end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to dialysis centers are high and growing rapidly. Research has suggested that substantial cost savings could be achieved if medically appropriate transport was made available and covered by Medicare. Objectives: To estimate US dialysis transportation costs from a purchaser’s perspective, and to estimate cost savings that could be achieved if less expensive means of transport were utilized. Methods: Costs were estimated using an actuarial model. Travel distance estimates were calculated using GIS software from patient ZIP codes and dialysis facility addresses. Cost and utilization estimates were derived from fee schedules, government reports, transportation websites and peer-reviewed literature. Results: The estimated annual cost of dialysis transportation in the United States is $3.0 billion, half of which is for ambulances. Most other costs are due to transport via ambulettes, wheelchair vans and taxis. Approximately 5% of costs incurred are for private vehicle or public transportation use. If ambulance use dropped to 1% of trips from the current 5%, costs could be reduced by one-third. Conclusions: Decision-makers should consider policies to reduce ambulance use, while providing appropriate levels of care.

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura C. Plantinga ◽  
Min Kim ◽  
Margarethe Goetz ◽  
David G. Kleinbaum ◽  
William McClellan ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Mhlaba ◽  
Emily W. Stockert ◽  
Martin Coronel ◽  
Alexander J. Langerman

Objective: Operating rooms (OR) generate a large portion of hospital revenue and waste. Consequently, improving efficiency and reducing waste is a high priority. Our objective was to quantify waste associated with opened but unused instruments from trays and to compare this with the cost of individually wrapping instruments.Methods: Data was collected from June to November of 2013 in a 550-bed hospital in the United States. We recorded the instrument usage of two commonly-used trays for ten cases each. The time to decontaminate and reassemble instrument trays and peel packs was measured, and the cost to reprocess one instrument was calculated.Results: Average utilization was 14% for the Plastic Soft Tissue Tray and 29% for the Major Laparotomy Tray. Of 98 instruments in the Plastics tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 59% were used in no observed cases. Of 110 instruments in the Major Tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 25% were used in no observed cases. Average cost to reprocess one instrument was $0.34-$0.47 in a tray and $0.81-$0.84 in a peel pack, or individually-wrapped instrument.Conclusions: We estimate that the cost of peel packing an instrument is roughly two times the cost of tray packing. Therefore, it becomes more cost effective from a processing standpoint to package an instrument in a peel pack when there is less than a 42%-56% probability of use depending on instrument type. This study demonstrates an opportunity for reorganization of instrument delivery that could result in a significant cost-savings and waste reduction.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Shelton ◽  
Deanna McWilliams ◽  
Rhiannon D Reed ◽  
Margaux Mustian ◽  
Paul MacLennan ◽  
...  

Background: Obesity has become a national epidemic, and is associated with increased risk for comorbid diseases including end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Among ESRD patients, obesity may improve dialysis-survival but decreases likelihood of transplantation, and as such, obesity prevalence may directly impact growth of the incident dialysis population. Methods: Incident adult ESRD patients with complete body mass index (BMI, kg/m 2 ) data were identified from the United States Renal Data System from 01/01/1995-12/31/2010 (n=1,822,598). Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n=4,303,471) represented the US population when weighted. Trends in BMI and obesity classes I (BMI of 30-34.9), II (BMI of 35-39.9), and III (BMI ≥40) were examined by year of dialysis initiation. Trends in median BMI slope were compared between the ESRD and US populations using linear regression. Results: Median BMI of ESRD patients in 1995 was 24.2 as compared to 28.0 in 2010, a 15.7% increase, while the US population’s median BMI increased from 24.2 in 1995 to 25.6 in 2010, a 5.8% increase. Comparable trends were noted with respect to prevalence of obesity classes I, II, and III (Table). BMI increase among the ESRD population was significantly more rapid than among the US population (β: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.14-0.17, p<0.001) (Figure). Conclusion: The median BMI of ESRD patients and prevalence of obesity among ESRD patients is increasing more rapidly than the US population. Given the increased dialysis-survival and decreased likelihood of transplantation associated with obesity, healthcare costs will likely increase, and thus, future research should be directed at examining medical expenditures.


Author(s):  
Julian L. Seifter

According to projections from the United States Renal Data Service (USRDS), 〉600,000 individuals in the United States will have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by 2010. The leading cause of ESRD in the United State is diabetes, followed by hypertension. As the care of diabetic patients has improved, particularly in the area of cardiovascular disease, they are living through their cardiovascular complications long enough to develop ESRD. As a consequence, since the inception of the Medicare ESRD program. the dialysis population has gradually become older with increasing numbers of comorbid conditions. Renal replacement therapy in the form of hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis may serve as a bridge to the best form of renal replacement, renal transplantation. The demand for suitable kidneys for transplantation far exceeds the supply, leaving many patients on dialysis for extended periods of time.


2018 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. S844
Author(s):  
Brittany Shelton ◽  
Deanna M McWilliams ◽  
Paul A MacLennan ◽  
Rhiannon D Reed ◽  
Margaux N Mustian ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 1333-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary S Wallace ◽  
Rachel Wallwork ◽  
Yuqing Zhang ◽  
Na Lu ◽  
Frank Cortazar ◽  
...  

BackgroundRenal transplantation is the optimal treatment for selected patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, the survival benefit of renal transplantation among patients with ESRD attributed to granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is unknown.MethodsWe identified patients from the United States Renal Data System with ESRD due to GPA (ESRD-GPA) between 1995 and 2014. We restricted our analysis to waitlisted subjects to evaluate the impact of transplantation on mortality. We followed patients until death or the end of follow-up. We compared the relative risk (RR) of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in patients who received a transplant versus non-transplanted patients using a pooled logistic regression model with transplantation as a time-varying exposure.ResultsDuring the study period, 1525 patients were waitlisted and 946 received a renal transplant. Receiving a renal transplant was associated with a 70% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality in multivariable-adjusted analyses (RR=0.30, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.37), largely attributed to a 90% reduction in the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) (RR=0.10, 95% 0.06–0.16).DiscussionRenal transplantation is associated with a significant decrease in all-cause mortality among patients with ESRD attributed to GPA, largely due to a decrease in the risk of death to CVD. Prompt referral for transplantation is critical to optimise outcomes for this patient population.


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