Risk assessment of failure during transitioning from in-centre to home haemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Introducing a de-novo home haemodialysis (HHD) program often raises safety concerns as errors could potentially lead to serious adverse events. Despite the complexity of performing haemodialysis at home without the supervision of healthcare staff, HHD has a good safety record. We aim to pre-emptively identify and reduce the risks to our new HHD program by risk assessment and using failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify potential defects in the design and planning of HHD. METHODS: We performed a general risk assessment of failure during transitioning from in-centre to HHD with a failure mode and effects analysis focused on the highest areas of failure. We collaborated with key team members from a well-established HHD program and one HHD patient. Risk assessment was conducted separately and then through video conference meetings for joint deliberation. We listed all key processes, sub-processes, step and then identified failure mode by scoring based on risk priority numbers. Solutions were then designed to eliminate and mitigate risk. RESULTS: Transitioning to HHD was found to have the highest risk of failure with 3 main processes and 34 steps. We identified a total of 59 areas with potential failures. The median and mean risk priority number (RPN) scores from failure mode effect analysis were 5 and 38, with the highest RPN related to vascular access at 256. As many failure modes with high RPN scores were related to vascular access, we focussed on FMEA by identifying the risk mitigation strategies and possible solutions in all 9 areas in access-related medical emergencies in a bundled- approach. We discussed, the risk reduction areas of setting up HHD and how to address incidents that occurred and those not preventable. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a safety framework for a de-novo HHD program by performing FMEA in high-risk areas. The involvement of two teams with different clinical experience for HHD allowed us to successfully pre-emptively identify risks and develop solutions.

Haemodialysis at home: review of current dialysis machines.

INTRODUCTION: Only a minority of patients with chronic kidney disease treated by hemodialysis are currently treated at home. Until relatively recently, the only type of hemodialysis machine available for these patients was a slightly smaller version of the standard machines used for in-center dialysis treatments. AREAS COVERED: There are now an alternative generation of dialysis machines specifically designed for home hemodialysis. The home dialysis patient wants a smaller machine, which is intuitive to use, easy to trouble shoot, robust and reliable, quick to setup and put away, requiring minimal waste disposal. The machines designed for home dialysis have some similarities in terms of touch-screen patient interfaces, and using pre-prepared cartridges to speed up setting up the machine. On the other hand, they differ in terms of whether they use slower or standard dialysate flows, prepare batches of dialysis fluid, require separate water purification equipment, or whether this is integrated, or use pre-prepared sterile bags of dialysis fluid. EXPERT COMMENTARY: Dialysis machine complexity is one of the hurdles reducing the number of patients opting for home hemodialysis and the introduction of the newer generation of dialysis machines designed for ease of use will hopefully increase the number of patients opting for home hemodialysis.