Palliative Dialysis in End-Stage Renal Disease
Document Type
Review
Publication Date
12-1-2011
Description
Dialysis patients are often denied hospice benefits unless they forego dialysis treatments. However, many of those patients might benefit from as-needed dialysis treatments to palliate symptoms of uremia, fluid overload, etc. The current Medicare payment system precludes this "palliative dialysis" except in those few cases where the terminal diagnosis is unrelated to renal failure. As approximately three quarters of all US patients on dialysis have Medicare as their primary insurance, a of review of Medicare policy is suggested, with a goal of creating a new "palliative dialysis" category that would allow patients to receive treatments on a less regular schedule without affecting the quality statistics of the dialysis center.
Citation Information
Trivedi, Disha D.. 2011. Palliative Dialysis in End-Stage Renal Disease. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Vol.28(8). 539-542. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909111400061 PMID: 21398269 ISSN: 1049-9091