Karnataka government is doing a pilot study to support PD financially

The Karnataka government, in association with the Institute of Nephro Urology at Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru is starting a 1 year pilot project where 25 patients would be put on Peritoneal Dialysis. The budget is Rs. 35 lakhs. The patients would bear only 35% of the costs and the government would bear the rest. You can read the article where I learnt about this here.

This is a great step forward for PD in India.

Peritoneal Dialysis is an excellent therapy. In my opinion, it offers a much better quality of life compared to traditional in-center hemodialysis. It requires much fewer diet and fluid restrictions and can be very easily done at home. However, despite all this, a very small fraction of patients are on this therapy.

For patients that stay far away from a hospital or a dialysis center, PD is often the only option. PD is slightly more expensive than HD and the patient is responsible for his health to a large extent.

This pilot project is a great initiative simply because this is probably the first time any government is doing anything to promote and support this therapy.

Dr. G K Venkatesh, the institute's director deserves many congratulations!





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