What are patient benefits of the crit-line? And if there are many as I have read why don't more centers use them? What centers are using them now. Can someone give some names so I can refer my local dialysis professionals to them? Is this another case of the bean counters keeping something from patients while they post their profits to Wall Street?

Dear Patient Advocate:
I don't know where you are located, so I can't give you a list of clinics in your area that use the Crit-Line. I can tell you however, that monitoring a patient's intravascular volume during dialysis, enables the clinician to get the patient closer to his/her dry weight. The Crit-Line has been proven to reduce morbid events during dialysis. Facilities that use the monitor faithfully, have been able to reduce anti-hypertensive medications in a significant percentage of their dialysis population. There is a paradigm shift in the dialysis world toward volume monitoring. More clinics are beginning to use volume monitoring because they see the benefits involved. Please let me know where you are located so that I can
send you a list of facilities currently using Crit-Line.

Thanks Nancy for your reply. I still am mystified at one thing and that is why is the monitor not more widely used. I am in Ohio and am unaware of its use except with the hemavision module in the Tina machine. Is it that not enough MD's are aware of the patient benefits?

The use of Crit-Line for volume monitoring is still not something that is used on a routine basis in dialysis units, although we hope to change that!. With reimbursement fixed, many units maintain that they cannot aford to use the Crit-Line on a routine basis. A major clinical study is underway to prove the benefits of volume monitoring. We hope that the results will motivate more physicians and administrative personnel to use the product.

Thank You Jesus!!!!!