How to Join a Dialysis Club

A dialysis club is a medical facility that offers care to travelers seeking dialysis during their vacations. This is not a club in the usual sense. Dialysis clubs enable people living with dialysis to travel without fear. Medical groups in tourist destinations around the world have cooperated to offer continuity of care to dialysis patients who must receive dialysis while they travel. Whether you are a frequent traveler or a dialysis patient interested in that special destination, a dialysis club or medical center can make it possible for your dream vacation to happen.

Instructions

• 1

  Seek advice from your primary care physician or nephrologist when planning to travel any distance from home. Your physician will have information about dialysis clubs or medical centers where you can receive treatment. Your physician also will provide you with prescriptions and instructions for the peritoneal dialysis nurse at your destination. Planning is key when traveling as a dialysis patient.

• 2

  Choose a dialysis club or medical center located at your travel destination. Request information well in advance of your travel date. Complete and submit application with attached documentation. Coordinate with your health insurance company and your physician to send your information to the desired dialysis club or medical center.

• 3

  Verify cost of care with the dialysis club or medical center at your destination. According to the National Kidney Foundation, Medicare will pay 80 percent of treatment costs within the United States and its territories. You or your commercial health insurance provider must cover the remaining 20 percent. Medicaid coverage is generally confined to your home state. You may need to obtain a letter from your commercial insurance company verifying coverage. Your destination medical treatment center may choose to verify coverage itself. Allow plenty of time for these arrangements to be completed.

• 4

  Organize your supplies and medical instructions before you leave home. Keep all medical documents together in a safe place. Be certain arrangements are complete well in advance of your departure date.