Home and Not Alone: Fresenius Medical Care North America Achieves 80 Percent Adoption of Nx2me Connected Health Platform

Home and Not Alone: Fresenius Medical Care North America Achieves 80 Percent Adoption of Nx2me Connected Health Platform

Company Continues Home Dialysis Growth Through Improved Education, Technology, and Support

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 8, 2021 -- Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation's leading provider of kidney care products, today announced that 80 percent of all NxStage home hemodialysis (HHD) patients now regularly use the company's Nx2me Connected Health platform, with adoption increasing more than 44 percent in the past year. The growth of both connected health and HHD is empowering a record number of people living with kidney failure to be involved in their own care, while enabling more freedom, travel options, and a higher quality of life.1

"This is a major milestone for our Nx2me Connected Health platform and reflects our efforts to make home dialysis easier than ever before," said Joe Turk, President of FMCNA's Renal Therapies Group. "We know that when patients use our connected health platforms we see higher engagement and patient retention. This technology is an essential component to enabling even more patients with kidney failure to live the fullest life possible."

Nx2me Connected Health connects clinicians with their HHD patients, simplifying the collection of treatment information and improving the patient experience. Patient information is shared via Bluetooth from the HHD cycler, including weight, blood pressure, and temperature. Care teams can access essential information about medications taken and can review answers to health assessment questions as entered by patients.

Nx2me has been shown to improve patient retention by monitoring compliance, while also enabling early intervention and education. The results include a 29 percent lower therapy discontinuation rate (excluding death and transplant), and a 39 percent higher likelihood of completing their home training program.2 The Nx2me platform offers many other advantages for home hemodialysis patients including:

• Virtual Sessions – NxStage technical support can assist by having a patient use the camera on their Nx2me iPad to visually show them their concern.
• Electronic Flowsheets – The Nx2me app automatically collects and transmits treatment data to the patient's care team for review, eliminating the need for patients to manually record it.
• Bluetooth Capabilities – Weight, blood pressure, and temperature can be automatically entered into a patient's electronic flowsheets via Nx2me Bluetooth enabled accessories.
• Mobility – Care partners have the flexibility to monitor a patient from anywhere on the same wifi network.

"Ensuring our patients have the most innovative, inclusive home technology available is paramount to increasing access and improving health equity in home dialysis," said Marty Schreiber, MD, Chief Medical Officer for home treatments at DaVita. "Nx2me's intuitive interface makes it easy for patients to treat safely—and confidently—at home, while giving our care teams timely data for proactive care planning to help improve outcomes and patients' overall quality of life."

The NxStage home hemodialysis machines from Fresenius Medical Care are the smart, simple solution for HHD. They are the first and only truly portable hemodialysis systems cleared for home use in the United States, including solo hemodialysis** during waking hours and nocturnal hemodialysis while both the patient and care partner sleep. Their small size offers greater flexibility to patients interested in traveling, as they can more easily bring their treatment supplies with them. The machines use the PureFlow SL to create dialysate using a combination of purified tap water and concentrated dialysate. The NxStage HHD machines can also be used with bagged dialysate – a practical option for situations when clean water supply is not available, and during travel.

To learn more about Nx2me Connected Health visit: https://www.nxstage.com/hcp/products/nx2me-connected-health/

More information about NxStage home hemodialysis machines can we found at: fmcna.com/products/home-dialysis-equipment/.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities and outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated healthcare services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world's largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products, and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website at https://fmcna.com/.

* Home homedialysis with NxStage systems involve risks. Not all patients may experience these benefits. Modality selections and decisions related to a patient's care are always made by the attending nephrologist and patient, and provided pursuant to a physician's order. Patients should discuss their options with their physician.
** Home hemodialysis typically requires a care partner. Patients require additional training and an order from their nephrologist to perform solo home hemodialysis.

References:

1. Bonenkamp AA, et al. Health-Related Quality of Life in Home Dialysis Patients Compared to In-Center Hemodialysis Patients: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis. Kidney Med. 2020;2(2):139-154.
2. Weinhandl ED, et al. Hemodial Int. 2018 Jul;22(3):318-327. doi: 10.1111/hdi.12621.