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The more than half a million US patients with kidney failure who require dialysis have been slammed over the past 2 years by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their situation has grown even more dire with the Omicron-driven surge in infections.
In recent weeks, US patients who need dialysis have had to face curtailed treatment sessions along with shortages in medical staff and supplies that have impeded access to dialysis.
"Immediate action is required to ensure that dialysis facilities have access to needed supplies and staff," said a joint statement from the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology released on January 18.
A First-Ever Drop in US Patients on Dialysis During the Pandemic
Data from 2020 included in the 2021 annual report of the United States Renal Data System document the first decline in the number of US patients receiving dialysis treatment in the 50-year history of the Medicare program that's designed to insure access to this life-saving treatment. In 2020, the number of US patients starting dialysis fell by more than 5000 relative to 2019.
The two organizations recommended that federal, state, and local governments take several immediate steps to mitigate the mushrooming crisis, including boosting access to critical supplies such as the components of dialysate fluids and high-quality face masks, suspending a federal regulation requiring use of prefilled saline syringes, and allowing licensed nurses to practice outside their states even where this is not currently permitted by existing rules.
