Innovation Stagnation: The Plight Of Dialysis Patients In The US Suzanne Watnick February 20, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/innovation-stagnation-plight-dialysis-patients-us For a clinician-scientist, the modern dialysis unit should be an ideal research environment. Every year, nearly 500,000 Americans with kidney failure, better known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), spend roughly 12 hours a week connected to machines that meticulously record multiple clinical variables. More than 80,000 additional Americans perform dialysis at home, either via peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis, also recording extensive data much of which are transmitted to their dialysis facility