Fresenius hosts a Patient’s Hub through which many aspects of Dialysis support are provided. Examples are the ability to order supplies monthly, daily input dialysis info from the night before, and a forum for supported members to post and respond to other inputs from fellow dialysis patients. Recently, a rlbecker posted what is quoted below. After this input, I included a few of my own. These are inputs to improve the Fresenius experience from a user’s perspective.
rlbecker asked a question.
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I am a newbie. Only on PD for 4 months. But I have some thoughts on potential improvement of the experience which are in the details below.
1. Catheter insertion.
If we need an x-ray to see where the catheter is, something is broken. The surgeon knows where it is placed right after the surgery. In addition to saying “everything went well” and prescribing pain medications afterwards, he/she should show on a diagram the angle of the catheter and the depth of the insertion. Even better, the surgeon should ask the patient how he/she sleeps (back, side, stomach) before the surgery, to guide the process for the best outcome.
2. Modem power.
The cycler cord is 10 feet long, but the cord on the modem is a couple feet less. This makes it difficult to manage the cords from the cycler to the wall. If both were the same length, one could tape the cords together to make a less cumbersome attachment. Even better, just like amplifiers, tuners, etc., the cycler could provide a through power outlet on the back for plugging in the modem (which could have a very short cord), eliminating one cord from the cycler to the wall.
3. Display on the cycler.
At this point, you have two options: always on; and on for x minutes, then off. There are times when you just want to see where things are in the process, so you tap on the display to see, and are then burdened with an additional period of light in the darkness of the bedroom. Since the sensors are already there and programmable, why not treat the light like the infamous “clapper” from TV ads: one tap to turn the light on, two taps to turn it back off?
4. Treatment complete.
When treatment is complete, why not turn on the light with that screen showing? One should not have to wonder whether or not the cycler has done its thing and you can get up and do the aseptic disconnection.
5. Helpful chart for new patients.
Setting up can seem a little daunting in the beginning. I am suggesting a chart to help demystify the process. On the chart, columns would be: display, time, you must do, and you can do. Rows will contain the displays that appear on the cycler as you go from step to step. As the cycler is going through its various setup steps, you could see what you can do in parallel and how much time you have to do that before the cycler will be ready for you to review and press next. This could shorten the time required to set up the cycler in the beginning while one is learning.
End Quote:
Hank’s comments follow:
H1: Several technology companies have virtual assistants that are now ingrained into users’ fabric. Apple has Siri. Google has Google Assistant. Amazon has Alexa. Fresenius should incorporate technology into the Cycler so that patients can query the Cycler while at a distance and/or in bed. For example, they could inquire how many more minutes the cycler has on dwell, drain, or where in the total treatment. Instead of getting up to quell a drain alarm, they could reset it from bed and, in response, reposition their bodies, etc. They could verbally enter parameters into the Cycler upon completion of dialysis instead of getting down on their knees to enter the same digitally – the old fashion way, BTW.
H2: Excessive non-recyclable debris must be disposed of after a Dialysis course. There are the boxes in which the dialysate is delivered. There are plastic wrappers from dialysate bags and the bags themselves. There is the cassette to be disposed of. And more odds and ends. This adds up to a 64 Galleon trash can just about filled every week. Certainly, German engineers can do better than this.
H3: Why do we even have an external modem at all? Most newer appliances are connected to the IOT (Internet of Things), including television sets. Using current technology, all of the hardware to gather data should be housed within the cycler.
H4: And speaking of data gathering, why, if I am inputting data into the Cycler every morning after my dialysis? There is a USB Thumb Drive that is also gathering data that I am required to “Sneaker Net” to my monthly meeting with my Dialysis Nurse. Why, when I call Tech support, do I have to go through countless screens of data and verbally provide the same to tech support before they even attempt to address the problem(s) that initiated my call? Shouldn’t such data already be in the system via the modem?
H5: My initial loadout of dialysate in no way matched the initial prescription my Nephrologist ordered. So I’m stuck with thirty-plus boxes of 2.5 dialysates that I have to eliminate since Fresenius has a policy of not accepting boxes of dialysate to return once they pass the patient’s portal.