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Living with a serious health condition is stressful under any circumstances. Kidney dialysis is a particularly stressful condition, with one extra thing to worry about – choosing a good dialysis clinic.
Why should you care about which dialysis clinic you attend? Does it matter? The answer to that question is of course a resounding yes.
In this article, we’ll discuss why it’s important to choose a good dialysis clinic, how you can choose, and which big-name dialysis clinics are worth considering.
Simply put, you’re going to be spending a lot of time at your chosen dialysis clinic. The average dialysis patient has three times a week, for three to five hours at a time. This means that you could be spending nine to fifteen hours a week at a dialysis clinic.
This means that even small issues, like uncomfortable dialysis chairs, can be magnified over time and become unbearable.
There are also many more important factors to consider. For example, attending an unhygienic or inefficient clinic means that your health and treatment will suffer. You may also need your clinic to put you on the track for a kidney transplant if you’ll ultimately need one.
So, it’s clear that the dialysis clinic you choose will have a significant impact on your life, your treatment, and your happiness. Let’s take a look at some tips for choosing a dialysis clinic.
Before you choose a new dialysis clinic, there are a few questions you should ask yourself – and the clinic – before making a decision.
How well does this clinic meet my needs?
This is a basic question, but one of the most important. Is the dialysis clinic you’re looking into able to provide the care you need? For example, suppose you need peritoneal dialysis as opposed to traditional hemodialysis. Is that offered here?
Also, you may want to continue working with your current nephrologist. This is a good choice, as your current doctor knows your needs and medical history. However, not all nephrologists work with all dialysis clinics.
Check that your nephrologist will work with the dialysis clinic before you make a change. This is also a good opportunity to ask their opinion on the clinic.
What are my transportation options?
Transportation is an often overlooked part of dialysis, but it’s incredibly important. As mentioned earlier, you could be spending nine to fifteen hours in the clinic. That’s a sizeable portion of your time and involves at least three separate trips to and from the clinic.
If you have your own transport, getting to the clinic might not be so much of a problem, but your transport costs (gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and time) will all quickly add up. If you need to pay for transport (taxis, buses, trains, etc), you’ll find yourself paying even more.
So, if you have the option, choose a clinic close to you. This cuts down on the money and time you’ll spend traveling to and from your dialysis sessions.
Do our schedules match?
Another basic but crucial question to ask is whether or not your schedule matches the clinic’s schedule. You may only have certain windows in which to have your dialysis sessions (for example, if you work full time or care for children). Is the clinic able to accommodate your needs?
Are the staff friendly and helpful?
When you visit the facility, talk to the staff. Once again, you’ll be spending a lot of time at this clinic, so pay attention to how the staff treats you – and other patients.
Most medical staff are friendly, helpful, and efficient, but there are unfortunate exceptions to the rule. Staff who don’t listen to their patients or seem to care about them are more likely to miss medical emergencies, and your health will suffer.
Inefficient staff are obviously going to have an impact on your health. Unfriendly staff – especially those who don’t have time to listen to your concerns – are going to make your dialysis experience unpleasant.
Is the facility clean?
Basic hygiene is the bare minimum expected of a dialysis clinic. The vast majority of dialysis facilities keep to a very high standard of cleanliness, but there are exceptions to this rule.
When you visit the dialysis clinic, take a look around at the cleanliness of the facility. Does the place look and smell clean? Is there evidence of regular cleaning and maintenance? Is the facility laid out in an efficient way?
What do other patients say?
If you have the opportunity, talk to other patients of the dialysis clinic. Ask them about their experience. How efficient is the clinic? Are the staff friendly? Are their concerns listened to? Is the place clean and well-run?
If you aren’t able to talk to other patients, check out the clinic’s online reviews. While these reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt, more often than not they’re the real-life experiences of patients. These reviews can give you valuable insight into that particular clinic.
Is home dialysis (or other dialysis alternatives) available?
Dialysis comes in many different shapes and forms these days. Peritoneal dialysis is a popular alternative to traditional hemodialysis, requiring blood to be filtered through the peritoneal membrane in the body, rather than out through a surgical port and through a filtering machine at a clinic.
PD allows patients to do at-home dialysis, nocturnal dialysis, and other more convenient forms of kidney dialysis. If you’re used to at-home dialysis, for example, make sure your chosen clinic offers at-home dialysis options.
Perhaps you can think of other essential features a dialysis clinic would need to have to suit your needs. Paying a visit to your chosen clinic is definitely important, and it’s good to do as much research as you possibly can before you make your decision.
There are some well-known dialysis clinics that you may immediately think of. Are clinics like US Renal Care or DaVita the best choices for you, or not? Let’s take a look at a brief summary of some well-known and often-used dialysis clinics in the US.
Dialysis Clinic Inc. (DCI) has been treating and dialyzing patients since 1971 and remains a non-profit organization. It also offers traditional hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and at-home dialysis.
Online customer reviews for DCI are varied. Some patients were extremely happy with the level of care and attention that they received, while others complained of vital equipment and medication running out of stock, and careless medical staff which led to health problems.
Chances are, DCI clinics vary depending on the quality of medical staff and their individual budgets. For a more full and detailed review of Dialysis Clinic Inc., click here.
DaVita dialysis clinics are a non-profit organization and received the DaVita name (which means “to give life”) in 2000. DaVita clinic offers hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, as well as at-home and nocturnal dialysis.
DaVita clinics, like most non-profit organizations, receive mixed reviews. Most of the online reviews for DaVita are extremely good, or at least fair (one reviewer mentioned that they only knocked off two stars from their review due to the outdated and unintuitive layout of the building itself). However, DaVita has been involved in wrongful death claims in the past, which may weigh heavily with some prospective patients.
For a full review of DaVita clinics, click here.
Liberty dialysis clinics are associated with Fresenius clinics, which we’ll discuss next. Liberty was bought out by Fresenius in late 2011 and offers hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, as well as at-home and nocturnal dialysis.
Liberty receives mostly good reviews, with patients praising their efficiency and good customer service. However, there are a few poor reviews, mostly citing careless staff. For a more in-depth review of Liberty dialysis clinics, click here.
Fresenius dialysis clinics is a German-based company, tracing all the way back to a pharmaceutical shop established in 1912. It now treats hundreds of thousands of dialysis patients and owns Liberty dialysis.
Fresenius offers all the usual dialysis treatments, such as peritoneal and hemodialysis, along with at-home and nocturnal dialysis. They have predominantly good reviews, but some patients do complain about poor communication and a lack of genuine care for their patients.
For a full review of Fresenius dialysis clinics, click here.
US Renal Care was established in 2000 and has been treating dialysis patients ever since. They offer all of the usual treatments that a dialysis clinic should, such as peritoneal and hemodialysis, as well as at-home treatments and nocturnal dialysis.
US Renal Care reviews mixed reviews. Some patients rave about wonderful treatment and kindly staff, while others complain about poor communication and unfriendly nurses. To check out these reviews and read a full report on US Renal Care, click here.
American Renal Associates (ARA) have been established in 1999. Since then, ARA has continued to serve dialysis patients, offering all the usual dialysis treatments. This includes at-home and nocturnal dialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and traditional hemodialysis.
While most of ARA’s online reviews are positive, some patients (or friends and relatives of patients) have complained about poor treatment and a general lack of empathy from the staff in some clinics.
For a full and in-depth review of ARA, click here.
Established in 1974, Satellite Dialysis has grown from a small renal care facility to a large dialysis company, offering all of the usual and expected dialysis treatments. This includes peritoneal and hemodialysis, as well as nocturnal and at-home dialysis.
Reviews for Satellite Dialysis are mostly good, with negative reviews coming from some inconvenience in the setup and location of the clinic (for example, a long walk from the car park to the clinic), rather than the quality of the treatment and efficiency of the staff.
For more information and a full review of Satellite Dialysis, click here.
Unsurprisingly, most new dialysis patients have a lot of questions. While most of your healthcare questions should be handled by your doctor and the dialysis clinic staff, we’ll go through some frequently asked dialysis questions here.
Does dialysis hurt?
Dialysis should not hurt. If you’re experiencing pain, discomfort, or cramps while you’re having dialysis, talk to a member of staff as soon as possible. First-time dialysis users might experience discomfort since it’s an unfamiliar sensation, but there should be no pain.
Cramps, nausea, dizziness, or other physical symptoms can be a sign that your dialysis settings are wrong for you. Speaking to a nurse or doctor can help you to straighten out these problems and enjoy a more comfortable, efficient dialysis setting.
For a full article on what dialysis should feel like and whether it should hurt, click here.
What are my dialysis options?
At one time, the only type of dialysis available was traditional hemodialysis at a dialysis clinic. Now, you have the option of peritoneal dialysis (which requires dialysis fluid changes several times a day, can be done at home and on the go, and allows you to eat and drink more or less what you want), as well as at-home dialysis and nocturnal dialysis.
Speak to your doctor about your options. However, there are now dialysis options and schedules which allow you to live and work as normal.
Check out more articles on vacationing with dialysis, living with dialysis, and dialysis diets here.
Living with end-stage renal failure or any other health condition that requires dialysis is difficult. There’ll be lots of different decisions to make, and choosing your dialysis clinic is one that will affect most of your other decisions.
Don’t rush your decision. Do your research – check up the branch of clinics you’re looking into as well as the specific clinic itself. Pay a visit to the clinic – and always trust your instincts.