Promoting Patient and Nurse Safety in Acute Dialysis Units Through Advocacy and Collaboration

Abstract

Hospitals face the increasing challenge of balancing the need to provide quality care with that of being cost-effective. While guidelines and benchmarks for quality care exist in many areas within the hospital, those guidelines can be lacking for the acute (inpatient) dialysis setting. Nephrology nurses working in this setting may provide hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, continuous kidney replacement therapy, and apheresis treatments at the patient's bedside and in an acute dialysis unit. This article discusses the need to promote patient and nurse safety in acute dialysis settings through advocacy and collaboration.