How to improve vascular access care.

Preservation of a well-functioning vascular access (VA) is one of the most important and problematic areas in the care of dialysis patients. Providing high quality of care can reduce morbidity, improve quality of life and reduces costs. Given the increased complexity and the multidisciplinary character of VA care, it is a prerequisite to establish a dedicated multidisciplinary approach. An essential part of VA care is the management of the process before, during and after cannulation. A lack of knowledge and skills can have major implications for dialysis patients and may be related to VA outcome. Therefore, VA care requires continuous education of staff and patients, timely referral, adequate planning, and early identification or prevention of complications with elective treatment. Furthermore, access care data should be measured to continuously improve VA quality and measure the effects of the performance and effort.