Choosing a Dialysis Center
While your options may depend on your health insurance, there is a good chance that you will be able to choose your dialysis center. Not all centers are the same. So it helps to understand what to look for. You may spend a lot of time at your dialysis center. It should be a place where you feel comfortable.
Before you make a decision, visit the center to meet the staff, see the facility, and ask questions. Everyone you meet when you visit a dialysis center should treat you with respect and dignity. Look to see if customer service and education are top priorities. You should experience excellence on each and every visit.
You can use this checklist when you visit dialysis centers to help you make the decision that’s right for you.
About the Center and Its Staff
- Which treatment options does the facility offer? Do they have the one you want?
- Is the dialysis facility clean? Are the dialysis rooms comfortable? Are they too hot or too cold?
- Is their equipment working and up-to-date? Do they reuse dialyzers, or do you get a new one for each treatment?
- What are the facility’s hours? Can you get the treatment shift you want? Will they schedule treatments around your job? Is there flexibility in scheduling for special events, etc.?
- Is the staff friendly, knowledgeable, and respectful of patients?
- Is the staff well trained? What type of training do they receive?
- Are you offered a tour of the dialysis facility?
- Does the staff treat patients as an important part of its own care teams?
The Center’s Services and Policies
- Who is on your healthcare team and what are their roles?
- Does the facility teach patients and their families about CKD and all of their treatment options?
- Do they offer exercise programs?
- What services do they provide to help you adjust when you first start dialysis?
- Do they provide or have information on patient and family support group resources?
- Do they allow visitors during treatment? What is their visitor policy?
- Will you be able to eat while having your dialysis treatment?
- Can you bring in and use a laptop computer or cell phone?
What do other patients think?
- Does the facility do patient satisfaction surveys? If yes, can you see the results?
- Can you speak with other patients in the facility to talk about their experiences?
