As someone living with kidney failure, I have several doctors managing my care. If they’re not communicating with each other, I don’t get the best care. That’s why care coordination is so important — it encourages doctors and specialists to share information about a patient’s health and the treatments they receive.
Most patients with kidney failure don’t receive coordinated care, but a bill in Congress called the Dialysis PATIENTS Act would change that. It would establish a five-year program in Medicare to integrate care for patients like me. By streamlining the delivery of care, integrated care focuses on the patient, not just the disease. Even better, it can improve the health of patients and lower health care costs at the same time.
I recently visited Washington, D.C., to thank Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler for supporting this critical legislation. I hope other lawmakers from Washington will also support it. Patients like me are counting on them.
