Survey on the current situation of hemodialysis facilities for aging patients on hemodialysis

We surveyed the current situation of supported patients on hemodialysis (HD). We sent questionnaires to Japanese HD facilities nationwide, and obtained 1,524 responses. It was found that 832 facilities provided pickup transportation for patients on maintenance HD. The number of HD patients using the pickup transportation was 28,715 in 811 HD facilities. For 77.1% of these facilities, this was a great burden, but not for 19.8% of them. Approximately one-third of the HD facilities (506 of 1,524) accepted HD patients using permanent HD catheters, and 36.1% (550 of 1,524) of HD facilities accepted long-term hospitalized HD patients without acute serious diseases, totaling 5,275 patients. There were 1,323 HD facilities that performed HD for some insured patients receiving long-term care. Only 123 HD facilities did not perform HD for such patients. On the basis of this survey, we could assess the current supportive situation of the disabled and/or aged patients on HD. It is suggested that a more refined supportive system for the disabled and/or aged patients on HD should be developed in various ways in the near future.