End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a major health burden and its incidence has been increasing yearly reaching 120,000 cases in 2014. Home hemodialysis (HHD) is a treatment modality option that has been shown to contribute to numerous clinical benefits but is largely underutilized due to many contributing factors. The purpose of this review paper is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of HHD and the reasons for its low utilization with a special focus on its socioeconomic impact as compared to facility hemodialysis. Key factors contributing to HHD underutilization are related to the reimbursement system of the facility and nephrologists as well as the underutilization of the pre-dialysis educational benefit. Based on this comprehensive review of the literature, we propose several suggestions which may contribute to the expansion of HHD treatment modality.
Keywords: behavioral medicine; health economy; home hemodialysis; outcomes; quality of life.