Taking on kidney disease head on
The projected number of people needing Kidney Dialysis in Australia over the next 10 years and the current Federal Government’s drive to make the health system more efficient will ultimately force the current Rudd Government to review the delivery of dialysis and consider a nationally co-ordinated CKD policy on prevention, detection and management, Kidney Health Australia has said.
On 2005 figures the cumulative cost of dialysis from 2004 to 2010 is expected to be $4.5 billion and the organisation says it would support a Federal Government urgently needed review of the present arrangements between state and Federal Governments.
Anne Wilson, the CEO of Kidney Health Australia, said the Government in Australia should be paying attention to the strategies recently reported to the CKD Summit from the UK where an integrated early detection and treatment program in primary care is beginning to deliver impressive results.
CKD has been identified as a silent but deadly multiplier of other major chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Patients with CKD have a greatly increased risk of having a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.
Federal Governments have failed to grasp the basic strategy that by investing public money to attack CKD, directly through the screening of high risk groups and management programs, they will get a bigger bang for the Public Health Buck as such a strategy will also impact on risk levels of heart attack, stroke or diabetes, as well as in the longer run reducing the burden of kidney failure in the community.
Wilson says at present, political parties think they are doing a good job by opening more dialysis units which are concrete symbols of policy failure in the areas of prevention early detection and management.
She adds that whilst it is vital to look after current and future dialysis patients, government need to focus on reducing the number of people needing dialysis through targeted screen, education and management of the disease .
At the end of 2007, 9,642 people in Australia were receiving dialysis treatment.
Dr Tim Mathew, the medical director of Kidney Health Australia said: ”Dialysis for Chronic Kidney Disease is the most frequent reason for hospitalisation. In 2007–08, regular dialysis for CKD was recorded as the principal diagnosis in 989,000 (almost 1 million) separations 12.6% of all hospitalisation in that year.”
How much does kidney failure cost the Australian health system? The best available evidence we have on cost per person per year on dialysis is:
- hospital Haemodialysis - $82,764
- satellite Haemodialysis - $48,631
- home Haemodialysis - $44,739
- peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) - $56,828
The cost of dialysis in 2006 was estimated to be $646.6 million. On 2005 figures, the cumulative cost of dialysis from 2004 to 2010 is expected to be $4.5 billion
If the analysis is true, to me also, Government in Australia should take care from the ground level to avoid futher impressive results!!!