Essential to develop cost-effective access to dialysis, say experts

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New Delhi: Medical experts have stressed the need for developing cost-effective access to dialysis in various countries including India.

Experts in the new research paper titled 'Ethical issues in dialysis therapy' published in the Lancet today said that a mere 30 per cent of patients manage to receive this life-saving therapy in India.

"Efforts to providing affordable dialysis to those with end-stage kidney disease should be done in conjunction with more cost-effective efforts to prevent its development and reducing its progression using proven methodologies," the paper argued.

This comes after the Indian government has initiated a National Dialysis Services Programme to provide dialysis services in all district hospitals.

Health Ministry officials had recently said that the programme is already running in 294 district hospitals, and approval has been given to 516 such hospitals.

The paper said the global market for dialysis was valued at more than USD 75 billion in 2011 and the costs of providing dialysis and the costs incurred by patients needing dialysis, vary between and within countries.

(With PTI inputs)