Cross-Country Conversations: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Experiences from India and Thailand
Combating the Global Increase of Chronic Diseases with Effective Policies: International Forum on Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) as a Priority Health Topic in Asia
ต้องการข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม ติดต่อฝ่ายสื่อสารองค์กร HITAP
In 2007, there were an estimated 58 million deaths worldwide and, according to the WHO, more than half of these deaths (35 million) were caused by chronic diseases. Another study estimates that the number of deaths caused by chronic diseases will rise to 50 million in 2020. The economic burden of these diseases is enormous. By 2015, an estimated reduction of 5% on the global domestic product will be due to funds channeled into healthcare spending on just two of these diseases – diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies show that lower-middle income and developing countries as well as elderly patients and those coming from lower income brackets bear the brunt of the increasing risk and economic burden of these diseases. Despite this, CKD is generally not included in the list of priorities for governments and international donors. And with governments’ around the world committing to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for their citizens, priority setting for treatments of chronic diseases – and CKD – is a must.
Preferred treatment is usually the more expensive and less logistically efficient in-clinic hemodialysis (HD) rather than the home kit peritoneal dialysis (PD). PD has several advantages: it is three times less expensive than HD, it can be done at home and reduce the three whole-day trips per week done for the HD procedure, less manpower is required, and there is no difference between HD and PD in clinical outcomes. As a result of their UHC commitment, several countries (Thailand and Hong Kong, in particular) have successfully enacted the Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) First policy as their primary treatment for renal diseases. Implementing such a policy in other countries increasingly became vital. So on November 27-28, 2014, an international forum on elevating this topic as a priority in Asia was conducted through the collaboration of Thailand’s Department of Medical Services under the Ministry of Public Health, the Nephrology Society of Thailand, the National Health Security Office, the Kidney Foundation of Thailand, Mahidol University Global Health unit, the Rockefeller Foundation, NICE International, and the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP). The objectives were important for developing and developed countries considering such a scheme: to share knowledge and experiences about enacting this policy; strengthen institutional and international networks to push the policy through; and spread awareness of the PD First Policy beyond their borders, regionally and globally.
The two-day forum was opened by the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Ratchata Ratchatanawin, and had an informative field visit to various hospitals and patients’ homes with PD treatments. Topics spanned the range from the global burden of the disease, end stage renal disease (ESRD) experiences and policies in Thailand and the U.K., the policy challenges in implementing PD First policy under the UHC for ESRD patients, clinical innovation to improve quality of care in PD, and psychosocial innovation for PD for improved quality of life. Delegates came from both the public and private sectors in Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and the United Kingdom; speakers included prominent movers and shakers in the field. Such that the physical, psychological and economic burden is mitigated for the individual patient and the government(s), collaboration among and between countries to push this policy forward was also discussed, and future conferences were considered to explore next steps and ways on progressing in this goal. Lessons learned, information, and outcomes from this forum will be documented in a report to be made available early next year on the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) and HITAP websites.
8 December 2014
