title: Home dialysis and dialysis treatment modalities in the VA system.
abstract: A questionnaire was sent to 50 Veterans Administration dialysis centers to inquire about treatment utilization in preparation for a Cooperative Dialysis Study. Thirty-five completed questionnaires in this survey identified a dialysis population of 2,483 patients including 452 contract patients (13.5%). The number of patients treated in-center was 1,101 (48.5%), including 239 on self-care (10.2%), and 930 patients (38.0%) were dialyzed at home. This high utilization rate of home dialysis appears in excess of three times the prevalence of home dialysis experienced overall in non-VA programs. Identification of factors responsible for the present emphasis on home programs in the VA and a corresponding analysis of non-VA programs should provide important information for the planning of future national ESRD policies.
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003284:Contract Services; D006437:Hemodialysis, Home / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012648:Self Care; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs