What does the patient gain from each encounter?
RenalTouch™ and RenalTouch™ for CKD give each patient a cumulative 6-hour plus learning experience, which can be broken down into sections that are manageable. It is almost like sending the patient to an anatomy and nutrition seminar for the diet of a pre-dialysis or dialysis patient.

The patient can focus on areas of deficient knowledge.

The patient can use the program again and again at his or her own pace without using up valuable dietitian, physician, or staff time.

The patients hear consistent, reproducible, and identical information to aid in learning and prevent confusion.

The RenalTouch™ programs encourage and challenge the patient to get the most out of their diet, their knowledge and to maintain  their health as long as possible.

Will my patients be embarrassed at the information they don’t know?
Surprising to many physicians, but not necessarily dietitians or staff, patients often are embarrassed to tell professionals what they DO NOT KNOW OR UNDERSTAND. Patients often don’t want to “let down” their doctors. Saying that they don’t know or understand something can be interpreted as a failure on the patient’s part. And patients don’t want to be considered failures for therapies. Using the RenalTouch™ programs allows the patient to learn at their own pace and go back to areas that are difficult to understand again and again.

What does the professional gain from each encounter?
There are repeated encounters and extensive contact between CKD and dialysis patients and their physicians, dietitians, nurses, social workers, and technicians. However, the contact is often limited and does not predictably produce useful communication or education. The RenalTouch™ programs are designed to offer more than technical treatment. Using the RenalTouch™ programs offers a comprehensive, reinforcing treatment with a multifaceted team approach.

In the United States, often patients who enter a dialysis or pre-dialysis program are drawn from populations that are socio- economically and educationally below the norms.  Improved knowledge leads to improved compliance. And improved compliance leads to less hospitalization, morbidity and mortality.

Using the RenalTouch™ programs to their full capability allows information on each patient encounter to be recorded on the Patient Usage Record. Each time this is done, it can be compared with the previous RenalTouch™ encounter. It is our hope that this usage record becomes part of the permanent record and be used for regular clinical assessment by the physician, patient reviews and conferences, focused teaching, and most importantly continuous quality improvement. The patient can then serve as his own control or can be compared within standards for the treatment center, dialysis unit, community, network, state, or even nation.

Can others gain anything from RenalTouch™?
The program is not limited to the patient or the treatment center. We encourage patients' spouses, family or caretakers to utilize this program to enhance their own knowledge. By doing this, better choices are made shopping for groceries, preparing food in the kitchen, eating at home or in a restaurant, an airplane, train, or wherever CKD and dialysis patients may find themselves.

What happens when patients are admitted to the hospital?
We also encourage hospitals to expose patients to RenalTouch™, specifically, those who are intermittently hospitalized or especially those patients new to or just initiating dialysis. Patients have a jump start to learning and adapting to the special nutritional needs for comprehensive and effective treatment of kidney failure.

Isn't it expensive to have RenalTouch™?
Not really. The monthly cost of each unit is about the same as two dialysis treatments lost. By keeping patients healthier and with less morbidity or mortality events, the dialysis center has a more consistent and dependable revenue stream. Having RenalTouch™ is like the dietitian having their own personal assistant at a mere fraction of the cost.

If my unit or hospital leases RenalTouch™ what happens if there are updated editions?
By leasing RenalTouch™ at this time, you will get updates during the term of your lease.

Are there any other reasons why I should lease RenalTouch™?
Nurses, dietitians and physicians and dialysis staff are genuinely committed to people with kidney disease. RenalTouch™ takes the valuable time spent at the doctors office or during a dialysis session and gives the added benefit of education so patients can improve their health.  Many times patients are unaware they are doing anything wrong.  Patients, staff and professionals can regain  the enthusiasm for treating patients with chronic problems.

But my patients aren’t capable of reading or understanding such complex information?
That’s just the point. The RenalTouch™ was created by practicing and experienced nephrologists, dietitians and nurses who experience the problem of comprehension on a daily basis. The information was written with a population that doesn’t have all the advantages of high literacy, information technology or access to sophisticated and expensive computer technology. The information is presented in a visually appealing manner and narrated to the patient whose literacy might be low or visually impaired.

But our dialysis center doesn’t have complex computer technology available for using a program like this or an information technologist on the premises?
We agree. That’s why each RenalTouch™ and RenalTouch™ for CKD unit is BOTH the hardware and software is completely self contained system. A sophisticated computer combined with a vivid touch-screen monitor that runs the software program. The system can be used with or without the mobile stand unit to fit your needs.  All you need to do is turn the system on, log the patient in and be "blown away" by what your patients will learn.