Munson Healthcare becomes the next US home dialysis provider to adopt Redsense’s solution
Munson Healthcare, northern Michigan’s largest and leading health care system, has decided to adopt the Redsense system for use in its home dialysis practices. Munson Healthcare is a system of nine community hospitals located throughout northern Michigan and serves a region with more than 500,000 residents.
“We are happy to welcome Munson Healthcare as a new customer, and we look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship. Incorporating the Redsense alarm as an extra layer of security will only strengthen the case for home hemodialysis in northern Michigan and the patients will benefit,” says Brendan Kane, US Director of Sales at Redsense.
The Redsense Alarm System improves patient safety during hemodialysis by continuously monitoring blood loss from the venous access. Such incidents happen relatively frequently during treatment – globally, it has been estimated that 2,100 needles dislodge every day – and it is paramount to address them immediately since the rapid blood loss otherwise quickly can be fatal. The Redsense monitor is especially valuable for patients in a home hemodialysis setting, since no healthcare professional is present during the treatment.
“In Munson’s and other providers’ home dialysis programs, the alarm helps mitigate this risk so that the patients can focus fully on the advantages offered by home dialysis, such as increased health, greater autonomy freedom, increased convenience, reduced traveling and a more flexible schedule,” saysPatrik Byhmer, CEO of Redsense Medical AB: “Home hemodialysis is actively promoted by US policy and is attracting more and more interest, which in turn is driving the demand for the Redsense alarm.”
About Home Hemodialysis (HHD) policy in the US
Kidney diseaseafflicts approximately 15 percent of the US population. It is a significant cause of death and a major expense for the federal government, with Medicare payments for dialysis and kidney transplants exceeding USD 110 billion per annum. In July 2019, the Trump administration launched an initiative to reduce this impact by creating new financial incentives and payment structures to promote disease prevention. One of the key efforts was to expand treatment modalities and encourage in-home dialysis and transplants over in-center treatment.
Home hemodialysis is often preferred by patients and physicians, due to increased independence and quality of life and a more positive outcome. Nevertheless, the rate of home dialysis in the US was only about 12 percent before the policy shift, of which 2 percent is home hemodialysis. This is considerably lower than in many other countries, partly because of Medicare payment structures favoring pricier dialysis centers. As awareness spreads and education and assistance becomes more readily available, the numbers are now on the rise.
The new policy, known as the Advancing American Kidney Health initiative, aims to have 80 percent of new patients either receive dialysis at home or undergo kidney transplants by 2025.
About Redsense’s market
The number of dialysis patients worldwide was approximately 3 million in 2018, and it is projected to keep rising at a relatively constant rate of around 6 percent annually. Redsense Medical is currently focusing on the US and European markets, and has established its own sales and marketing organizations in these countries, while utilizing distributors for other markets. In a global perspective, the US, dominated by DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, is the most important market.
For more information, please contact:
Patrik Byhmer, CEO Redsense Medical AB (publ)
Phone: +46 35 10 60 30
ABOUT REDSENSE MEDICAL
Redsense Medical is a corporate group with operations mainly in Europe and the United States. The company has developed the Redsense System, an innovationused for monitoring and alarm in the case of blood leakage in connection with a hemodialysis treatment. Redsense Medical solves one of the most serious remaining safety problems within hemodialysis – to quickly detect Venous Needle Dislodgement and catheter leakage to minimize blood leakage. The system consists of a patented fiber optic sensor, designed for either venous needle or central venous catheter, which is connected to an alarm unit. From the very start, the development of the company's technology has been based on the demands and safety requirements of healthcare providers in the dialysis sector.