Renal medicine and renal patients at the Seventh I.K.A. Hospital of Athens.
Clinical nephrologists are generally aware that bringing chronic renal treatment to all patients who need it is both an economic and a medical challenge. On the medical side, there is the task of giving the most appropriate form of treatment to the individual patient and, so far as it lies within the power of the physician and his staff, of supporting and motivating the patient to maintain a reasonably satisfying and productive life despite the stress of illness and treatment. On the economic side, there are a number of issues concerning the generation of funds for treatment, the utilization of various categories of medical and nonmedical personnel, and the geographic deployment of treatment resources of varying levels of expertise and intensity. For example, the hospital facilities for diabetic dialysis patients who can anticipate periodic complications are more extensive than the more limited back-up facilities needed for well-stabilized "healthy" patients who are managing domiciliary dialysis. These questions have an international aspect, as the nephrology professionals and health administrators in many nations seek to expand their treatment programs for chronic treatment of renal failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000191:economics*