Patient Care Technician Staffing and Outcomes Among US Patients Receiving In-Center Hemodialysis.

Importance: Dialysis patient care technicians (PCTs) play a critical role in US in-center hemodialysis (HD) care, but little is known about the association of PCT staffing with patient outcomes at US HD facilities. Objective: To estimate the associations of in-center HD patient outcomes with facility-level PCT staffing. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a retrospective cohort study, with data analysis performed from March 2023 to January 2024. Data on US patients with end-stage kidney disease and their treatment facilities were obtained from the US Renal Data System. Participants included patients (aged 18-100 years) initiating in-center HD between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018, who continued receiving in-center HD for 90 days or more and had data on PCT staffing at their initial treating HD facility. Exposure: Facility-level patient-to-PCT ratios (number of HD patients divided by the number of PCTs reported by the treating facility in the prior year), categorized into quartiles (highest quartile denotes the highest PCT burden). Main Outcomes and Measures: Patient-level outcomes included 1-year patient mortality, hospitalization, and transplantation. Associations of outcomes with quartile of patient-to-PCT ratio were estimated using incidence rate ratios (IRRs) from mixed-effects Poisson regression, with adjustment for patient demographics and clinical and facility factors. Results: A total of 236 126 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.1 [14.4] years; 135 952 [57.6%] male; 65 945 [27.9%] Black; 37 777 [16.0%] Hispanic; 153 637 [65.1%] White; 16 544 [7.0%] other race; 146 107 [61.9%] with diabetes) were included. After full adjustment, the highest vs lowest quartile of facility-level patient-to-PCT ratio was associated with a 7% higher rate of patient mortality (IRR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.12), a 5% higher rate of hospitalization (IRR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08), an 8% lower rate of waitlisting (IRR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85-0.98), and a 20% lower rate of transplant (IRR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71-0.91). The highest vs lowest quartile of patient-to-PCT ratio was also associated with an 8% higher rate of sepsis-related hospitalization (IRR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.14) and a 15% higher rate of vascular access-related hospitalization (IRR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.28). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that initiation of treatment in facilities with the highest patient-to-PCT ratios may be associated with worse early mortality, hospitalization, and transplantation outcomes. These results support further investigation of the impact of US PCT staffing on patient safety and quality of US in-center HD care.

Patient Care Technician Staffing in US Hemodialysis Facilities: An Ecological Study.

Rationale & Objective: Technicians caring for patients receiving dialysis play a critical, frontline role in the care of patients receiving dialysis in the United States. We sought to provide a comprehensive description and identify correlates of US in-center hemodialysis facility patient care technician staffing patterns. Study Design: This was an ecological study. Setting & Participants: US facilities providing hemodialysis and reporting patient care technician staffing, identified using the US Renal Data System. Exposures: Geography, year, and facility characteristics, including aggregated patient characteristics. Outcomes: The study outcome was facility-reported patient-to-patient care technician ratio. Analytical Approach: We examined patient-to-patient care technician ratios by US state and over time and also estimated the differences in patient-to-patient care technician ratios associated with facility characteristics, using robust regression with adjustment for facility-level covariates. Results: The median patient-to-patient care technician ratio among 6,862 US facilities in 2019 was 9.9 (25th-75th percentiles, 8.2-12.0). Median 2019 patient-to-patient care technician ratios varied substantially by US state and region. There was an overall decline (from 10.6 to 9.9) in median patient-to-patient care technician ratios from 2004 to 2019, whereas the percentage of positions that were unfilled increased (from 2.8% to 3.5%). After adjustment, large dialysis organization status (ß, -0.42; 95% CI, -0.61 to -0.23) and larger facility size (ß, -0.51; 95% CI, -0.68 to -0.33) were associated with lower patient-to-patient care technician ratios. Higher patient-to-registered nurse (ß, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.94) and patient-to-social worker (ß, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.37-0.70) ratios, presence of licensed vocational nurses or licensed practical nurses at the clinic (ß, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.53-1.12), and location in a poverty area (ß, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.13-0.44) were all associated with higher patient-to-patient care technician ratios. Aggregated patient characteristics of patients treated at the facilities were generally not associated with patient-to-patient care technician ratio after adjustment. Limitations: Limited causal inference and potential shifts in staffing after 2019. Conclusions: US dialysis facilities vary considerably in their patient care technician staffing by geography, over time, and by various facility characteristics. Further investigation of US patient care technician staffing is warranted and could lead to better, more stable dialysis staffing, improved staff and patient satisfaction, and higher quality of care.

In the United States, patient care technicians play an important role in hemodialysis care. Although ongoing staffing shortages and turnover among other hemodialysis care providers have been described, little is known about US patient care technician staffing. Examining national data reported by dialysis facilities, we found variability in patient care technician staffing by geography, over time (with fewer patients per patient care technician in more recent years), and by various facility characteristics. This information can be used to target staff recruitment and retention interventions at facilities where patient care technician staffing may be more challenging.

Work Experiences of the Interdisciplinary Dialysis Workforce in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Suboptimal dialysis care may be in part due to staff issues such as job dissatisfaction, burnout, work overload, high staff turnover, and inconsistent training. Here, we leveraged data collected in a recent national survey to provide an initial, comprehensive description of current work experiences of US dialysis care providers. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,240 active US dialysis clinic staff members (physicians, advanced practice providers, nurse managers/clinic coordinators, nurses, social workers, dietitians, and patient care technicians), who were recruited via emails to society membership lists. Respondents were asked about a wide variety of work experiences, including job satisfaction, professional fulfillment, and burnout (Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index), work culture, experiences of hostility and violence, and self-reported medical errors. Responses were summarized overall and compared by clinic role. RESULTS: Most of the survey respondents, representing all 50 US states, were aged 35-49 years (58.3%) or ≥50 years (23.5%), female (60.7%), and white (59.8%; 23.1% black, and 10.0% Asian); 82.1% had been in their current role for at least 1 year. Most US dialysis staff responding to our survey reported being generally satisfied with their jobs (mean rating of 7.9 on 0-10 scale), but only 54.4% met criteria for professional fulfillment, and 32.8% met criteria for burnout, driven by high scores in the work exhaustion domain. Related issues, including high workloads, lack of respect (including experiences of violence and hostility), lack of autonomy, and suboptimal patient environments (in terms of both safety and patient centeredness), were commonly reported among dialysis care providers, although their prevalence often differed by provider type. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the dialysis workforce may be at a critical point. Preventing further staff burnout, which could lead to even greater staffing shortages and worse working conditions among those who continue to provide dialysis care, is essential.

Professional Fulfillment, Burnout, and Turnover Intention Among US Dialysis Patient Care Technicians: A National Survey.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: High professional fulfillment and low burnout and staff turnover are necessary for a stable dialysis workforce. We explored professional fulfillment, burnout, and turnover intention among US dialysis patient care technicians (PCTs). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional national survey. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: National Association of Nephrology Technicians/Technologists (NANT) members in March-May 2022 (N=228; 42.6% aged 35-49 years, 83.9% female, 64.6% White, 85.3% non-Hispanic). EXPOSURE: Likert-scale items (range, 0-4) related to professional fulfillment and 2 domains of burnout (work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement) and dichotomous items related to turnover intention. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Summary statistics (percentages, means, medians) were calculated for individual items and average domain scores. Burnout was defined by combined work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement scores of≥1.3 and professional fulfillment by a score≥3.0. RESULTS: Most respondents (72.8%) worked ≥40 hours per week. Overall scores for work exhaustion, interpersonal disengagement, and professional fulfillment (median [IQR]) were 2.3 (1.3-3.0), 1.0 (0.3-1.8), and 2.6 (2.0-3.2), respectively; 57.5% reported burnout, and 37.3% reported professional fulfillment. Important contributors to burnout and professional fulfillment included salary (66.5%), supervisor support (64.0%), respect from other dialysis staff (57.8%), sense of purpose about work (54.5%), and hours worked per week (52.9%). Only 52.6% reported that they plan to be working as a dialysis PCT in 3 years. Free text responses reinforced perceived excessive work burden and lack of respect. LIMITATIONS: Limited generalizability to all US dialysis PCTs. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of dialysis PCTs reported burnout, driven by work exhaustion; only about one-third reported professional fulfillment. Even among this relatively engaged group of dialysis PCTs, only half intended to continue working as PCTs. Because of the critical, frontline role of dialysis PCTs in the care of patient receiving in-center hemodialysis, strategies to improve morale and reduce turnover are imperative.