"Let's keep close": Increasing peritoneal dialysis service effectiveness through bridging the gap between patient and provider

• Main Authors: Rotsukon Varitsakul, Siriorn Sindhu
• Other Authors: Thai Red Cross Collage of Nursing
• Format: Article
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Medicine
• Online Access: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/36559
• Institution: Mahidol University

© 2015 Renal Society of Australasia Journal. This paper examines the challenges of peritoneal dialysis (PD) service delivery in Thailand where PD is expected to be the possible solution in overall health care budget control. In our developing country, the extent of the service quality under the constraint of resources is an issue that clinicians need to consider when providing health care for PD patients. Since the patients are required to self-manage PD treatment at home, adverse outcomes may be difficult to control. There is a gap between patients and providers, with poor patient understanding, low treatment adherence, and fragmented care delivery. These are common barriers to promote the quality of the service. To overcome these obstacles, strategies derived from the evidence are proposed to bridge the gap, including early patient identification and home visits, effective PD patient training, and continuing home visits and support. In addition, health resource standardisations are described.