There are at present only 33 dialysis machines operating in Delhi government run hospitals but the government has assured the court that 50 more machines would be set up under Public Private Partnership(PPP) mode.

In an affidavit filed by secretary of health and family welfare, the government said that poor patients would be able get free of cost treatment at PPP dialysis centre.

"The patients from economically weaker section in Delhi having less than Rs 3 lakh of per annum income would receive free of cost dialysis, within the prescribed amount, at PPP dialysis centres along with EPO injections under Delhi Arogyakosh scheme of the government," the affidavit said.

The affidavit was filed in compliance with court's order seeking response from the Centre and all states on why dialysis units be not set up in each district. The court had issued notice to governments on a PIL filed by advocate Sanjeeb Panigrahi seeking its direction to set up more dialysis unit in hospitals.

It said that 30 machines would be set up in Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital and 20 in Hedgewar Arogya Sansthan. The government said that 10 machines were successfully operating under PPP mode in Lok Nayak Hospital.

"Besides dialysis centres under PPP mode, eligible patients are also referred to private hospitals for free of cost dialysis services under Delhi Arogyakosh scheme. Also under 10% free quota for poor patients, private hospitals concerned are asked to provide free dialysis to eligible patients," it said.

Panigrahi told the court that as per estimates of Union health ministry, the country needs at least 50,000 dialysis machines but it has 20% of the requirement.

He said number of kidney patients were rising in the country and sought a direction to the states to initiate steps to prevent incidents of kidney failure and related renal diseases by having at least one dialysis centre in each district throughout the country.

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the RUN take:

If all men visiting the doctor’s office for erectile dysfunction (ED) were screened for cardiovascular disease (CVD)risk factors, the savings in health care costs over 20 years could be substantial and save lives, according to a new study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

As ED predicts CVD, it could represent a short window of opportunity for treatment before coronary events occur. The Princeton Consensus Conference recommends evaluating men with ED for CVD. A third or more men in the U.S. have undiagnosed risk factors, such as high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes. Far too often, the first sign of heart disease in such patients is sudden cardiac death.

Researchers in this study modeled the costs of CVD screening and compared them with likely outcomes. If men with ED were screened and treated for CVD risk factors, it could prevent 1.1 million acute CVD events at a cost saving of $21.3 billion over 20 years. If it likewise reduced the ED burden, it could save additional $9.7 billion.

To put it another way, screening just 12 men with ED and treating them can prevent one acute CVD event. For every dollar spent on screening, $10.80 in direct costs of acute CVD and ED care would be saved.

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MEMPHIS, TN --(Marketwired - March 05, 2015) - Qsource, a non-profit regional healthcare consultancy based in Memphis and operating throughout Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, announced plans today to merge with Indianapolis-based Network Strategies & Innovations, Inc. (NSI) to advance quality of care for persons with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The agreement expands Qsource's healthcare services portfolio and creates a new corporate infrastructure for NSI while retaining its name and recognition as a leader in ESRD care, performance management and patient-outcomes analysis.

For more than 40 years, Qsource has worked with government, public and private sector organizations to improve the quality, effectiveness and accessibility of healthcare services throughout the entire continuum of patient care and across all healthcare settings.

As a Quality Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), under contract to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Qsource works with healthcare providers, partners, stakeholders and healthcare consumers to ensure that quality care is delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. 

NSI focuses its healthcare quality improvement activities on chronic kidney disease, dialysis and kidney transplant care for persons with ESRD, and currently operates three of the nation's 18 ESRD Networks under their own contract with CMS. These networks are known throughout the region as The Renal Network (TRN) [Networks 9 & 10], which serves the states of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, and Heartland Kidney Network (HKN) [Network 12], which serves Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

Both The Renal Network and the Heartland Kidney Network place a high priority on patient-engagement. According to Susie Stark, chief executive officer of NSI, "active and informed patients lead to better treatment results. We have a variety of programs, including our Learning & Action Networks (LANs), where beneficiaries can provide input to help healthcare providers respond to the unique needs of renal disease patients, and can help identify the best ways to spread best practices or design and implement activities that promote improvements in patient health management."  

Working directly with healthcare providers, NSI monitors the quality and improvement of care ESRD patients receive, collects data to administer national Medicare ESRD programs, and provides technical assistance to providers caring for persons with ESRD, in addition to assisting ESRD patients with grievances.

Both ESRD Networks will maintain a local presence, with current staff continuing operations while utilizing the expanded resources and expertise provided by the Qsource merger.

According to Dawn FitzGerald, Qsource's chief executive officer, the affiliation provides an opportunity to improve patient care, while achieving economies of scale and eliminating duplicative time, resources and costs.

"NSI and Qsource have a steadfast commitment to strengthen patient care, and to continually identify barriers, break down silos, and invent and improve new models of care that are effective and cost-efficient," FitzGerald said. "Through this partnership, and with NSI's particular expertise in renal disease, we can expand our services to achieve targeted, patient-centered care for dialysis and transplant patients, and together identify ways to help prevent renal disease by looking upstream in chronic care delivery."

Qsource will support the three ESRD Networks by providing corporate support and consolidating operational and administrative functions for finance, human resources, information technology (IT), and procurement.

Under terms of the agreement, NSI and its three ESRD Networks will become an independent subsidiary of Qsource by the end of 2015.

Qsource is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) healthcare quality improvement and information technology consultancy headquartered in Tennessee since 1973. Qsource provides a wide range of services to assist organizations and providers in improving health, and improving healthcare quality and delivery with better patient outcomes and cost savings. Qsource corporate offices are located in Memphis, Tenn., with additional offices in Nashville, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark., Indianapolis, Ind., and in Louisville, Ky. For more information, please visit www.qsource.org

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Rockwell Medical Inc. reported that gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2014 grew 25% to $2.6 million, compared to the same quarter last year. Sales grew 3.5% to $14.4 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, and research and development expenses dropped 71% to $1.7 million.

Gross profit for 2014 grew 28% to $8.5 million, compared to 2013.  Sales for the full year grew 3.5% to $54 million.

"We had a very eventful active year," said Robert L. Chioini, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwell. "Our fourth quarter was exceptional and included three major milestone accomplishments. First, we monetized and de-risked our operating business and positioned it for future growth through our new partnership with Baxter. Then, we conducted a successful FDA advisory committee meeting, achieving a majority vote to approve Triferic as the only iron replacement and hemoglobin maintenance drug for hemodialysis patients. Additionally, we completed a successful financing, strengthening our cash and liquidity position resulting in a strong balance sheet with no debt."

" We are now working diligently towards the commercial launch of both Triferic and Calcitriol, as well as expanding our operating business. Overall, we accomplished significant, strategic milestones and as we continue to execute we are focused and well prepared to offer patients and physicians clinically beneficial products while building Rockwell into a leading biotech company."

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