Skip to content
KidneyPass
Official CMS data
Travel planning guide

Dialysis travel and guest placement

Guest, or transient, dialysis is arranged between a traveler, the current dialysis center, and a facility at the destination. This guide covers the administrative process only.

How guest dialysis is arranged

  1. Share the destination and dates

    Give the destination and travel dates to the staff member at the current dialysis center who handles travel or guest-placement requests. Starting a request is not the same as having a confirmed placement.

  2. Identify candidate facilities

    Use the KidneyPass catalog to identify Medicare-certified facilities in the destination city or ZIP code. The catalog contains facility records, not guest-placement availability.

  3. Ask each candidate about its process

    Contact a candidate facility directly to ask whether it can review a guest-placement request for the travel dates and which administrative steps it requires.

  4. Coordinate the requested paperwork

    If a destination facility proceeds with the request, the current and destination teams can exchange the forms and records that the destination facility asks them to provide.

  5. Get confirmation from the destination facility

    Only the destination facility can confirm a placement. Keep the facility contact details and the confirmation information it provides with the travel records.

Planning timeline

Facility lead times vary, so the timeline is organized around confirmation milestones rather than a promised number of days.

As soon as the destination and dates are known

Open the placement request and identify candidate facilities. Lead times vary by facility, destination, and dates.

While the request is being reviewed

Keep the current center and candidate facility updated about administrative details, and track which team is handling the next requested step.

Before departure

Check that the destination facility has directly confirmed the placement and supplied its location, contact details, and arrival instructions.

If the destination or dates change

Tell both facilities. A confirmation for one location or date range does not establish availability for a different plan.

Document and information checklist

The destination facility decides what it requires. This organizational list helps keep the request materials together without specifying clinical content.

  • Destination, travel dates, and a local contact address or phone number
  • Patient identification and contact information
  • Insurance card details and any payer or authorization contact information
  • Current dialysis center and care-team contact information
  • Signed release or consent forms requested for center-to-center record exchange
  • Records and administrative forms specifically requested by the destination facility
  • The destination facility’s direct confirmation and contact details

Find catalog facilities at the destination

Search by an exact city or ZIP code. The lightweight catalog index loads only after the search action. The underlying data contains no guest-placement availability field.