The Rudd Government could follow
the United States Congress strategy to deal with Chronic
Kidney Disease in Australia, Kidney Health Australia
said today.
Anne Wilson, Chief
Executive of Kidney Health Australia said latest
research which shows
Chronic Kidney Disease
(CKD) acts as a multiplier for heart, stroke and
diabetes has seen
the US Congress
commit $100 billion (25%) of its Medicare budget to
fight CKD with a national strategy including a pilot
program of CKD detection by targeted screening and
community awareness programs to limit the expansion of a
runaway massive dialysis debt.
Kidney Health Australia is set to release
an
email briefing
video to all State and Federal Members of
Parliament, treasury and health bureaucrats on the US
situation made at its recent CKD Summit last week
featuring an expert in chronic kidney disease clinical
and economic outcomes, Professor Allan Collins, Director
of the United States Renal Data System, Professor of
Medicine University of Minnesota, Director of the Public
Health Surveillance System for the National Institutes
of Health (NIH).
Professor Collins also comments
on the strategic actions the Australian Government
should consider taking given the USA experience.
The email briefing is also being released
on
YouTube. At
the end of 2007, 9,642 people in Australia were
receiving dialysis treatment with the health budget on
dialysis blowing out at a million dollars a week.
Dr Tim Mathew Medical Director of
Kidney Health Australia said, Dialysis for Chronic
Kidney Disease (CKD) is the most frequent reason for
hospitalisation. In 2007-08, regular dialysis for CKD
was recorded as the principal diagnosis in 989,000
(almost 1 million) separations
12.6% of all
hospitalisation in that year.Ms
Wilson said Kidney Health Australia welcomed the review
of Australia's ailing health system and believed
ultimately the Federal Government like the US Congress
would take over the management of CKD under a national
chronic disease preventive umbrella.
"Such a system controlled and directly
funded by the Federal Government would be able to cut
out significant inefficiencies and establish a better
and a more sustainable Chronic Disease strategy for
Australia.
"This will provide the Rudd
Government with an opportunity to actually manage CKD in
Australia in a more coordinated and effective manner as
opposed to the current fragmented approach."
Ms Wilson said Chronic Kidney Disease in
Australia is a major public health threat which needed a
significant public health response to cope with the
combination of the size of the problem and Australia's
ageing population.
1
in 7 Australian adults over the age of 25 years has
chronic kidney disease (stage
1-5).
At the end of 2007, 9,642
people were receiving dialysis treatment and 7,128
people were living with a functioning kidney
transplant.
Professor Allan
CollinsAn expert in chronic kidney disease
clinical and economic outcomes, Professor Collins is
President of the National Kidney Foundation. He is
Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota School of
Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis,
MN. He also serves as Director of the Chronic Disease
Research Group of the Minneapolis Medical Research
Foundation and as Principal Investigator for the U.S.
Renal Data System (USRDS) Coordinating Center of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Collins manages
all data resulting from the NKF's KEEP screening
programs nationwide as the Director of the KEEP
Coordinating Center.
Access the
Professor Allan Collins Video Briefing
Media
Enquiries:
Anne Wilson, CEO Kidney Health Australia
Mobile: 0400 165 391
Dr Tim Mathew, Medical Director
Kidney Health Australia Mobile: 0416 149 863
Ron Smith National Media Communications
Kidney Health AustraliaMobile: 0417 329
201
How much does Kidney Failure cost the
Australian health
system?· The best
available evidence we have on cost per person per year
on dialysis
is:
-
hospital Haemodialysis -
$82,764
-
satellite Haemodialysis -
$48,631
-
home Haemodialysis -
$44,739
-
peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) -
$56,828
· The cost of dialysis in
2006 is estimated to be $646.6
million
· On 2005
figures the cumulative cost of dialysis from 2004 to
2010 is expected to be $4.5
billion
· The cost of a transplant
for a kidney recipient in the first year is $65,375 -
$70,553.
· The cost for a
transplant recipient in subsequent years is $10,749 per
annum
· The cost
of a live kidney donation in relation to the donor is
$8,178
· The cost
of a deceased kidney donation in relation to the donor
is $3,000
· These
costs demonstrate that for every kidney donation, there
is a substantial saving to government in relation to the
health expenditure.
· The direct
costs savings after the first year post transplant would
be around $60,000 to $70,000 per annum for each patient
receiving a kidney donation.
www.kidney.org.au