Page 23 - GHES-3-2

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Retrospective analysis of dialysis and kidney transplant

height, weight, hepatitis C virus status, and donation after 4.2. Healthcare policies
circulatory death status, subsequently followed by patient 4.2.1. Informing healthcare resource allocation
selection (Gabolde et al., 2001).
Cost analysis can be valuable for policymakers when
3.4. Organ preservation making funding arrangements and decisions. There are
Maintaining graft viability between explantation and potential opportunities for policy improvement that
implantation is critical for ensuring both early and long- could bring additional benefits to the field. For instance,
term kidney function after transplantation. Machine if transplantation is found to be cheaper in the long
perfusion is a recent method that reduces the risk of run, there could be ways to increase patients’ access to
delayed graft function, with pulsatile machine perfusion transplantation centers and decrease the overall costs
displaying particularly better results. (Hays & McClellan, 2018).
4. Significance of this study for clinical 4.2.2. Developing treatment guidelines
decisions and framing healthcare policies Assessments of QoL and costs can contribute to the
production of guidelines that comprise best practices in
4.1. Clinical decisions
the treatment of various diseases to improve compliance
4.1.1. Personalized management by health organizations. For instance, these criteria may

Knowledge on the impact of dialysis compared to that of recommend transplantation as the preferred choice for
kidney transplantation on QoL enables the development eligible patients, based on positive cost-effectiveness and
of relevant treatment strategies that conform to the QoL indicators (Hays & McClellan, 2018).
patient’s preferences. For example, patients who view 4.2.3. Overall impact
long-term QoL as more valuable than other factors may
select transplantation, as data have demonstrated that By understanding the benefits of QoL and the cost-
transplantation produced improved outcomes (Raimann effectiveness of dialysis and kidney transplantation, more
& Kuhlmann, 2016). effective clinical decisions and policies can be implemented.
This, in turn, places both the patient and the healthcare
4.1.2. Informed patient counseling system in a better position to achieve optimal health

Based on the results of QoL and cost-effectiveness, outcomes, patient satisfaction, and resource utilization
clinicians can inform patients of all available options, (Olsson & Helgesson, 2019; Kumar & Sharma, 2020).
enabling better-informed decisions. This is particularly
valuable in shared decision-making, where patient 5. Technological advancements in kidney
preferences and expectations are considered (Raimann & dialysis and transplant patient monitoring
Kuhlmann, 2016). 5.1. Telemedicine

4.1.3. Risk-benefit assessment Telemedicine refers to the practice of providing medical
care remotely using technology, which can include a range
Based on the state of a patient’s health, age, lifestyle,
and other factors, clinicians can evaluate the risks and of tools (Santosh et al., 2024), as follows:
advantages of dialysis over transplantation. For instance, (i) Video consultations: Patients and healthcare providers
a 60-year-old patient with an early-stage or less comorbid can have virtual face-to-face appointments through
condition would benefit from transplantation, regardless of video calls, allowing for real-time interaction and
the current QoL, as they have higher chances of improved consultation without needing to be physically present
QoL in the future (Raimann & Kuhlmann, 2016). in the same location.
(ii) Phone consultations: Medical advice and follow-ups
4.1.4. Resource allocation in clinical settings can be conducted over the phone, which is useful for
Resource allocation in clinical settings allows for the patients who may not have access to video technology
comparison of cost-effectiveness, ensuring proper or prefer voice communication.
utilization of resources by healthcare providers. For (iii) Mobile health apps: These applications can offer
instance, if an analysis indicates that transplantation services such as appointment scheduling, medication
reminders, and access to health information.
offers long-term cost benefits compared to non-transplant
options, hospitals may need to allocate more transplant- With this technology, physicians (nephrologists or
related resources or programs to enhance donor-alternative transplant specialists) can provide virtual consultations,
matching (Raimann & Kuhlmann, 2016). which reduce the burden of travel and increase access to

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 15 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4639