Improving quality of the kidney’s life

It’s burgeoning and yes kidney failure is a grim reality of today’s so-called advanced world. US currently witnesses to over more than 666,000 cases of this fatal disease making it catastrophic for the larger human mankind. A lot of research work has been dedicated to get this situation corrected and this is where kidney dialysis plays a crucial role.

Transplantation is for certain considered the first mode of treatment in the US, but with the prevailing surgery risk factors and donor issues, kidney dialysis stays the best alternative. Getting a donor in the US is a matter of fate and luck and with a consistent rate of 8% increase in kidney donor every year, patients don’t have much option.

Over 90% of patients in US are undergoing kidney dialysis which is a lot yet there is some bone of relief for the patients. Daunting though, kidney dialysis otherwise known as the silent disease has reduced the mortality rate by35% with short term effects.

The fact is that kidney disease is hard to detect in the foremost early stages and thereby it is termed as the End stage renal disease causing a complete failure of the organ. Two forms of dialysis including hemodialysis and peritoneal are in place and of which the former is prominent in the US for treatment.

Kidney dialysis can be either done in a hospital or at home as per the state of health and doctor advice. Kidney dialysis is time tasking, yet the patient may undergo some spurts of discomfort in the initial stage and post the treatment due to blood pressure issues. This is an ongoing process until a donor is available for the kidney transplantation treatment. And with so many patients undergoing dialysis, people do live a normal life with a better feeling caused otherwise without the treatment. Going to work is absolutely normal with exceptions to manual labor. The best part of this treatment is that a patient can avail at any centers within United States without much hassle.

Cost is always detrimental when comes to health and in case of kidney failure, financial help in US is much needed and aided. The federal government does provide aid by Medicare for the specially category of people who are diagnosed with kidney failure. And since this is a long process, states also provide financial aid such as coverage of additional costs, assistance for dialysis, medications for outpatients and coverage of related expenses. Medicare insurance policy essentially enables a kidney patient to cover a good amount of the prescribed medicines cost. Also having a Social Security Disability insurance (SSID) can benefit in availing Medicare facilities. Further to this, a kidney patient can get financial assistance every month under the SSID and Supplemental Security Income scheme. Medicaid is another federal scheme that assists kidney patients specifically for the low-income groups. Individual states also run their assistance program for kidney patients in form of financial aid. American Kidney fund is another known institution in the field of paying health premiums to ensure timely care with proper medications. Another organization that can be reached out to is the National Fund Foundation for nutrition, transportation and medication expenses. For free medications, kidney patients can also avail the state pharmaceutical assistance programs. The Pediatric Summer Enrichment program is designed to provide assistance to children undergoing dialysis. Alternatively, private health insurance schemes are readily available to cover kidney dialysis costs.

With US running third in the race of kidney disease, it comes as no surprise with increasing rise in diabetes, hypertension and overweight issues. And since kidney transplant is not always suitable, kidney dialysis becomes a part and parcel of the patient’s life.

The National Kidney Foundation is working towards in creating guidelines for improving the quality of overall dialysis process for better outcomes. This is inclusive of public education of healthcare professionals and patients, coordinating with insurers and healthcare providers and thereby improving compliance results.

Irrespective of the mortality rates and the survival factor, kidney disease is directly related to the health issues prevailing in the US such as overweight, diabetes and cardiovascular complications. And thereby the US government is working in tandem with various healthcare organizations to improve health in general. The point is to understand that kidney dialysis in any form is also related to other influential factors such as patient’s age, weight, health state, gender and other correlated factors. The integrative care or the dual-modality approach is one such initiative that has been a latest outcome of several researches to improve survival chances in kidney disease. In a nutshell, kidney dialysis can be well managed with proper dietary restrictions and government assistance including education and finance.