Funding Dialysis

Care of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients is very costly. It is important to make dialysis affordable to patients using a collaborative mechanism of financing.

In Grenada there is one dialysis clinic which was opened as a private enterprise in 2006. With limited financial resources available to patients with ESRD and the unavailability of health insurance from government, patients have to limit the number of times they are dialysed. This also makes it difficult to keep afloat as a private sector clinic providing a critical service.

One of the more expensive medications needed by patients is Erythropoietin. Others are also needed and will of course vary from patient to patient. The average cost can be obtained in the process of developing a detailed funding plan.

Employers need to be flexible in allowing employees to work around the times of treatment. Employees need to provide a productive service during the hours available to them. The literature shows that employed ESRD patients have a better quality of life when they are employed in work that does not require a high level of physical activity.