The projections of numbers needing Kidney Dialysis in Australia over the next 10 years and the current Federal Government's drive to make the health system more efficient will ultimately force the current Rudd Government to review the delivery of  dialysis and consider a nationally coordinated Chronic Kidney Disease policy on prevention, detection and management,  Kidney Health Australia said today.
 
On 2005 figures the cumulative cost of dialysis from 2004 to 2010 is expected to be $4.5 billion and the organization says it would support a Federal Government urgently needed review of the present arrangements between State and Federal Governments. 
 
Anne Wilson CEO of Kidney Health Australia said Government in Australia should be paying attention to the strategies and experience of the United Kingdom, recently reported to the Chronic Kidney Disease Summit, where an integrated early detection and treatment program in primary care is beginning to deliver impressive results.  
 
"Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has been identified as a silent but deadly multiplier of other major chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Patients with CKD have a greatly increased risk of having a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.
 
"Federal Governments have failed to grasp the basic strategy that by investing public money to attack CKD directly through screening of high risk groups and management programs they will get a bigger bang for the Public Health Buck.  This strategy will also impact on risk levels of heart attack, stroke or diabetes as well as in the long run reduce the burden of kidney failure in the community.  
 
"At present we have political parties thinking they are doing a good job by opening more dialysis units which are concrete symbols of policy failure in the areas of prevention, early detection and management.
 
"Whilst it is vital to look after current and future dialysis patients' governments need to focus on reducing the number of people needing dialysis through targeted screening, education and management of the disease."
 
At the end of 2007, 9,642 people in Australia were receiving dialysis treatment.
 
Dr Tim Mathew Medical Director of Kidney Health Australia said, "Dialysis for Chronic Kidney Disease 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."
 
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 was 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.
 
Kidney Health Australia to create an awareness of the need for reform of Chronic Kidney  Disease Policies in Australia has released a number of major interviews on YouTube to all Members of Parliament so they can have access to the latest information from the UK Government  and US Congress.  The interviews include Dr Donal O'Donoghue, The National Director for Kidney Health Care in the United Kingdom, and Dr. Allan Collins, President of the National Kidney Foundation and Principal Investigator for the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) Coordinating Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).