WASHINGTON—More than a month after sending a letter to government representatives outlining the need for change in the way dialysis is delivered in the United States, a number of prominent nephrologists are still waiting for a response.
In April, the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center hosted a four-day conference in Boston with nephrologists to discuss the state of dialysis and its future.
On June 5, the conference steering committee, made up of a number of prominent nephrologists, sent a letter to Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, and Barry Straube, MD, chief medical officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The six-page letter—condensed from more than 1,700 slides presented at the April meeting—discussed the need for change in the way dialysis is performed in the United States and included a number of action points. The letter’s recipients, however, have yet to respond.
“We felt like the letter was sufficiently crisp and directed,” said Thomas F. Parker III, MD, co-chair of the ESRD: State of the Art and Charting the Challenges for the Future conference. “It would be appropriate to at least acknowledge that the letter had been received and that these were indeed issues that would be considered.”
A spokesman for CMS confirmed that it did receive the letter and that it is making its way through the agency. “A response is in the works,” said Peter Ashkenaz, CMS deputy director of media affairs. However, a date for the response has not been determined.
“Since the letter came out, I’ve probably gotten 40 phone calls from colleagues saying, ‘Parker, I wish I had said it.’ I’ve not gotten any phone calls saying, ‘Why the hell did you do this?’ I think those people would like to call but they haven’t,” Parker said.
Parker was part of a conference 20 years ago in Dallas that invited principals from all over the world to discuss the state of the science and art of dialysis. “It was during that meeting we pointed out that the United States had the highest mortality rate of any of the first world countries,” he said.
