Tele-Nephrology Brings Dialysis to Rural Areas

A pilot program in Kentucky has shown that tele-nephrology can deliver dialysis treatments and other needed care effectively in rural areas. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati teamed up with Dialysis Clinics Inc. to bring dialysis to Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Kentucky, to treat patients who needed medical, surgical, or critical care. Two-thirds of the patients were treated successfully and discharged. Now, the hospital provides around-the-clock care to patients with kidney and electrolyte disorders.

According to the researchers, dialysis rates in the U.S. are similar in rural and urban areas, but most rural counties have a shortage of dialysis facilities and/or nephrologists. This program demonstrated the viability of a hub-and-spoke tele-nephrology model.

When an admitted patient at Meadowview needed dialysis, he or she was treated locally by a Meadowview physician who consulted with UC Health nephrologists via telemedicine. This eliminated the geographical and financial barriers of being transported to another hospital.

To learn more about the program, view the UC Health press release introducing the project and the press release summarizing the conclusion of the project.

To learn about how the swyMed video medicine platform can be used in a tele-nephrology setting, contact us online at swyMed.com.