How Do We Compare?

Compare Dialysis Facilities

In making a decision about your dialysis care, we want you to compare. We want you to make an educated decision about which dialysis provider in whom you choose to instill your trust in your healthcare. We encourage you to go to a number of different providers, perhaps even different facilities with the same company name, meet their staff, discuss their care philosophies, and get a sense of how they make you feel. Not all dialysis providers are equal. When it comes to home dialysis providers, HDT stands out above the rest given the experienced home-only dialysis clinical staff HDT maintains.

HDT Quality Outcomes Compared to National Averages

Comparison of Exit Site Infection Rates
A large concern for patients considering peritoneal dialysis as a modality option is the risk of infection. Infection rates vary from clinic to clinic across the United States, largely due to care techniques, as well as the availability of a dedicated surgeon for optimal peritoneal dialysis catheter placements.
compare graph
  • At HDT, exit site infection rates are 1 episode every 13 years.
  • Exit site infection rates are 1 episode every 3 years nationally.
  • At HDT, peritonitis infection rates are 1 episode every 3.5 years.
  • Peritonitis infection rates are 1 episode every 1.5 years nationally.
Comparison of Hospitalizations and Emergency Room Visits
Another concern patients should consider when selecting a dialysis clinic is the rate of hospitalizations and emergency room visits for its patients. At HDT, due to the comprehensive care coordination with your nurse and doctor, as well as 27/7 on-call support, we are able to provide exceptional outpatient care.
  • Our patients have 10% fewer hospitalizations
  • Our patients have 49% fewer emergency room visits
Comparison of Transplant Readiness Rates
In addition, as a result of the outstanding care we offer our patients, at HDT we are very successful at helping our patients seek and maintain transplant readiness.
  • For our patients under the age of 70, 43% of those patients are currently on a transplant waiting list compared to only 25% nationally.
We welcome you to come in and have your individual concerns addressed with one of our nurses in a 1-on-1 dialysis options training class at HDT.
Dialysis Facility Compare, 5-Star Rating Debate

In theory, a rating system to compare dialysis providers in your local area, and across the United States, would be a valuable tool. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have successfully implemented rating systems for hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice, and home health providers. CMS’s dialysis rating system does not take into account that home-only dialysis programs have different quality measures than in-center hemodialysis providers. Unfortunately, the shortcomings of this 5-Star rating system for all dialysis providers were not addressed prior to the release of the program.

Confusion by the CMS Rating System

Concern was expressed to CMS, before the release of Dialysis Facility Compare in January 2015, that the design of the program may actually create confusion among existing dialysis patients and patients for whom dialysis has been recommended, rather than provide them with improved information about the care they receive. Actions to delay/abort the implementation of the program, until it could be designed to provide accurate and clear information to patients about the true quality of care ALL dialysis facilities provide, were unsuccessful. HDT is a home-only facility with no deficiencies on our Certification Survey; yet, we have a 1-Star rating due to the data input challenges home-only programs have experienced caused by CMS. Home dialysis modalities are generally better for patients, both medically and psychosocially, and are more cost-effective for payors. The rating system is thus misleading and has caused confusion, in that it can lead one to perceive in-center hemodialysis as the safer or better choice for quality care. CMS has been asked to work directly with the dialysis providers, particularly programs geared towards providing home dialysis modalities, as well as a patient community, to refine the 5-Star Ratings Program for the program to accurately depict quality outcomes.

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At HDT, we agree with CMS’s intent behind the 5-Star Rating Program implementation as a means for patients to be informed about the quality of care afforded by dialysis facilities in the Medicare program. We look forward to the rating system being more equitable for home-only programs as changes are implemented. In the end, how does HDT compare? We encourage you to come in, meet with our staff, tour our clinics, and decide for yourself.
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