BAXTER Asia Pacific has launched My Kidney Journey in support of patients living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
Baxter is a global leader in dialysis care and is committed to improving the care and quality of life for patients with CKD through their continued innovation in modern peritoneal dialysis (PD) along with home and in-centre haemodialysis (HD) therapies and services.
My Kidney Journey has been developed to provide additional information on CKD such as the symptoms, causes and stages, as well as balanced and up-to-date information on multiple treatment options to manage CKD such as home HD, peritoneal dialysis (PD) at home, in-centre dialysis care and kidney transplant.
It also offers support to patients, families and caregivers by providing insights on ways to live well on dialysis, including coping with the emotional difficulties of a diagnosis and demands of treatment.
“There is no one-size fits all model for managing CKD. However, we hope that this new online portal will provide patients with the knowledge and resources they need to plan for a healthy and full life while on dialysis or other CKD treatments,” commented Baxter Asia Pacific president Andrew Frye.
“Aside from patients, we hope that My Kidney Journey can be a platform that offers support to caregivers who are supporting their loved ones to adjust to life with CKD and their own personal journey.”
CKD is currently on the rise in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, with the prevalence increasing from 9.1% in the 2011 National Health and Morbidity survey to 15.5% in 2018.
This foresees that major public health problems in countries such as Malaysia will extend owing to the fact that the number of Malaysians with CKD is projected to significantly increase in the future due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes and hypertension.
“Being diagnosed with end stage kidney failure is tough to accept. The shock from unexpected test results, feelings of sadness and fear about the idea of living with a chronic illness can be difficult to deal with for both the patient and their family,” said Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre deputy director (medical services) and senior consultant nephrologist in Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Prof Dr Abdul Halim Abdul Gafor.
Therefore, providing the right information about the disease and treatment options are important to empower patients to decide a treatment plan based on their needs and values, he added.
According to Prof Dr Abdul Halim, who is also the president of the Malaysian Society of Nephrology (MSN), My Kidney Journey is also a useful tool to supplement the CKD and pre-dialysis information that healthcare professionals have already provided to patients.
“This website is supporting both healthcare professionals and patients with decision making. We believe many people with CKD will benefit from visiting and exploring this platform,” he remarked. – Nov 17, 2021
