| [ Summary ] |
Japan is considered to be one of the countries with the highest number of senior citizens. Increases in medical expenses are a major social problem due to the increase in the number of senior citizens. The general population is decreasing in Japan. As a result, the number of the young people who must bear the tax burden has decreased since 1998. There is an excellent health insurance system in Japan. All people in Japan are able to join the public medical insurance system. In Japan, all end stage renal disease patients may be treated, receiving hemodialysis therapy at little cost to themselves. It is well known that sur vival rates for Japanese dialysis patients are the highest in the world. However, an increase in dialysis medical expenses is a crucial problem. Peritoneal dialysis is a good dialysis technique, which may be recommended to senior citizens in terms of high degrees of satisfaction and low cost.
To maintain good survival rates and good ADL in elderly ESRD patients, we must discuss the future of senior citizens' dialysis treatment seriously. |