DaVita (Spring 2024) - MGTO 30300 — Business Problem Solving (Harms/Balko) - Library Guides at University of Notre Dame

DaVita

Understanding Dialysis Patients

The DaVita case has a unique demographic focus on dialysis patients. There are a variety of resources available which help to establish the context of dialysis patients and patients suffering from kidney disease (a major cause of dialysis treatment). These resources will provide insight into trends impacting this patient community, and they may inform potential solutions to reducing their hospitalization rates. They may also more indirectly inform factors which cause increased hospitalization of dialysis patients.

Recommended Resources

GoodRx - How much does Dialysis Cost
A well written article documenting costs based on data from government medical journals. When using figures from this article, it is best to access and cite the figures from the original sources linked by the article to include the proper context.
CDC Dialysis Safety
Home page for CDC data concerning dialysis, and recommendations for safely implementing such procedures.
CMS Dialysis Facility Data Sets
Provides access to open data sets on a variety of metrics related to dialysis facilities. Sets include quantitative data on quality of care for dialysis recipients among other topics.
National Institute of Health (NIH) Kidney Disease Statistics
Provides an overview of statistics and basic facts concerning kidney disease in the United States. Provides some additional information on treatment options such as dialysis.
PubMed
Database of medical research provided by the National Library of Medicine. Try searching strings such as: "hospitalization rates" AND dialysis. Dialysis AND infection may also be a good search as infection from medical procedures is often a cause for hospitalization.
USRDS Annual Data Reports
Data report on the hospitalization rates of patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) which often requires dialysis. Tabs on the left contain more data on a variety of related diseases and factors.

Industry Search Tips

Industry research can provide a macrolevel view at a variety of issues facing a particular service field, such as healthcare and hospitals. When looking through industry resources, it is best to maintain a broad search approach. The DaVita case focuses on a specific population (dialysis patients), but industry reports covering hospitals, healthcare, and insurance providers in general will have applicable information. Reports may also lead to information on new technology and service drivers within the medical space.

Outside of databases such as ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry, which supports more narrow keyword searching, avoid using search language specific to types of treatments, such as dialysis. Opt instead for more general language such as hospitals, medical, healthcare, etc.

Recommended Databases

IBISWorld
Industry reports in five categories: market research, risk ratings, company research, global industry research, and economic and demographic data. Standardized market research report components include overviews, industry performance and outlook, competitive landscape (including market share concentration), regulatory environment, major companies, operational conditions, and key statistics.
ABI/Inform Trade and Industry
Try the search string: dialysis AND (service OR technology) AND trends, and filter the results on the left hand side to the most current year range, and check the box on the left which says "exclude wire feeds". This should pull many First Research industry reports on Kidney Dialysis Centers as well as a variety of other relevant content. There are even reports on DaVita to be found in these results!
Business Insights: Essentials
Provides access to Plunkett Analytics industry reports. Select Plunkett Reports from the Industries tab at the top of the screen, Search Within Results by industry name/NAICS code, or search a company name then look at the Industries section in the company profile for industry essays and/or Plunkett reports.
Mergent Intellect
Provides access to First Research industry reports. Search for a company, then look at the Industry Details tab. Click on the actual report icon to bring up the First Research Industry Report. Note that there may be multiple reports if your company is classified in multiple industries. May be helpful if you can identify a company implementing a service or technology related to yours that has a profile in the database.

Dialysis Technology Trends

In pursuing the question of what service/technology recommendations to apply to the DaVita case, it will be a good idea to look into what current trends are being pursued in the healthcare space. Access to market research in this area will be relatively limited, but there are a number of scientific resources documenting trends in this market space as well as a few possibilities in more emerging technology market databases.

Recommended Databases

BCC Research
Upon entering the database, click on the login option at the top right of the page, selecting the "IP Authenticate" button. Contains a variety of current market reports outlining trends in the dialysis market, services, and technologies. Search dialysis in the main bar for some good results! Pay heed to publication dates ensuring you are selecting results probably from around 2018 to present.
Technavio
Provides access to market research reports on a few dialysis oriented product areas. Helpful in that reports forecast potential growth for the next roughly 5 years in the markets covered.
Health Business Fulltext
Provides access to journal articles covering topics of administration from a business perspective in hospitals and healthcare. Has a couple of relevant articles with the search dialysis AND (technology OR service) limiting the date range on the left to 2018-2022. Results are limited.
PubMed
Database provided by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Try some of the following searches filtering the results on the left hand side to a more current year range such as 2017-2022:
- dialysis AND innovation
- dialysis AND ("care model" OR "service model" OR "treatment model")
- dialysis AND payment
Nature - Innovations in Dialysis Article
Recent article published in 2020 by Nature magazine discussing the innovation landscape of dialysis procedures and technology.
Google Scholar
Potential for good results with a variety of search strings, including many of the ones discussed previously for databases such as PubMed. The following search string provides scatted, but interesting results: dialysis AND innovation AND market

MGTO 30300 — Business Problem Solving (Harms/Balko)

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DaVita

Understanding Dialysis Patients

Recommended Resources

Industry Search Tips

Recommended Databases

Dialysis Technology Trends

Recommended Databases