Inventory Management for Home Dialysis

Nephrology professionals are well aware of the many benefits that patients can achieve with more frequent, home-based dialysis. From improved patient health to a better quality of life, home dialysis can deliver a far greater degree of freedom and removes many of the constraints and restrictions that have largely defined renal therapy for decades.¹

But that’s not to say that home dialysis is an effortless proposition. This treatment requires a level of commitment in many areas and a consistent dedication—from manufacturers, patients, care partners and dialysis centers alike. However, for most patients, the valuable reported benefits of home dialysis may outweigh the adjustments they must make to accommodate the therapy.

One area of consideration is managing inventories of the needed supplies for home therapies. Peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis using conventional equipment and supplies, and home hemodialysis using the NxStage equipment with pre-packaged bagged dialysate all require a relatively large storage area. For patients using peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis bagged solutions, a monthly delivery could be 50 to 80 boxes, not including ancillary supplies. With the introduction of new dialysate preparation technology, storage requirements are significantly reduced and the home hemodialysis patient’s monthly delivery could be as little as 10 boxes. Even so, inventory management is an important responsibility associated with any home dialysis treatment. In the four years since its hemodialysis equipment was cleared for home use and made available to patients with kidney failure, NxStage has learned several key lessons and developed best practices that can improve our ability to support home hemodialysis patients in this area.