Provision of Kidney Disease Education Service Is Associated with Improved Vascular Access Outcomes among US Incident Hemodialysis Patients.

Background: Pre-ESKD Kidney Disease Education (KDE) has been shown to improve multiple CKD outcomes, but its effect on vascular access outcomes is not well studied. In 2010, Medicare launched KDE reimbursements policy for patients with advanced CKD. Methods: In this retrospective USRDS analysis, we identified all adult patients on incident hemodialysis with ≥6 months of pre-ESKD Medicare coverage during the first 5 years of CMS-KDE policy and divided them into CMS-KDE services recipients (KDE cohort) and nonrecipients (non-KDE cohort). The primary outcome was incident arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and the composite of incident AVF or arteriovenous graft (AVG) utilization. Secondary outcomes were central venous catheter (CVC) with maturing AVF/AVG and pure CVC utilizations. Step-wise multivariate analyses were performed in four progressive models (model 1, KDE alone; model 2, multivariate model encompassing model 1 with sociodemographics; model 3, model 2 with comorbidity and functional status; and model 4, model 3 with pre-ESKD nephrology care). Results: Of the 211,990 qualifying patients on incident hemodialysis during the study period, 2887 (1%) received KDE services before dialysis initiation. The rates of incident AVF and composite AVF/AVG were more than double (30% and 35%, respectively, compared with 14% and 17%), and pure catheter use about a third lower (40% compared with 65%) in the KDE cohort compared with the non-KDE cohort. The maximally adjusted odds ratios in model 4 for study outcomes were incident AVF use, 1.78, 99% confidence interval, 1.55 to 2.05; incident AVF/AVG use, 1.78, 99% confidence interval, 1.56 to 2.03; incident CVC with maturing AVF/AVG, 1.69, 99% confidence interval, 1.44 to 1.97; and pure CVC without any AVF/AVG, 0.51, 99% confidence interval, 0.45 to 0.58. The benefits of the KDE service were maintained even after accounting for the presence, duration, and facility of ESKD care. Conclusion: The occurrence of pre-ESRD KDE service is associated with significantly improved incident vascular access outcomes. Targeted studies are needed to examine the effect of KDE on patient engagement and self-efficacy as a cause for improvement in vascular access outcomes.

Utilization of CMS pre-ESRD Kidney Disease Education services and its associations with the home dialysis therapies.

BACKGROUND: Kidney Disease Education (KDE) has been shown to improve informed dialysis selection and home dialysis use, two long-held but underachieved goals of US nephrology community. In 2010, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched a policy of KDE reimbursements for all Medicare beneficiaries with advanced chronic kidney disease. However, the incorporation of KDE service in real-world practice and its association with the home dialysis utilization has not been examined. METHODS: Using the 2016 US Renal Data System linked to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and pre-ESRD Medicare claim data, we identified all adult incident ESRD patients with active Medicare benefits at their first-ever dialysis during the study period (1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014). From these, we identified those who had at least one KDE service code before their dialysis initiation (KDE cohort) and compared them to a parsimoniously matched non-KDE control cohort in 1:4 proportions for age, gender, ESRD network, and the year of dialysis initiation. The primary outcome was home dialysis use at dialysis initiation, and secondary outcomes were home dialysis use at day 90 and anytime through the course of ESRD. RESULTS: Of the 369,968 qualifying incident ESRD Medicare beneficiaries with their first-ever dialysis during the study period, 3469 (0.9%) received KDE services before dialysis initiation. African American race, Hispanic ethnicity, and the presence of congestive heart failure and hypoalbuminemia were associated with significantly lower odds of receiving KDE services. Multivariate analyses showed that KDE recipients had twice the odds of initiating dialysis with home modalities (15.0% vs. 6.9%; adjusted odds ratio (aOR):95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0:1.7-2.4) and had significantly higher odds using home dialysis throughout the course of ESRD (home dialysis use at day 90 (17.6% vs. 9.9%, aOR:CI 1.7:1.4-1.9) and cumulatively (24.7% vs. 15.1%, aOR:CI 1.7:1.5-1.9)). CONCLUSIONS: Utilization of pre-ESRD KDE services is associated with significantly greater home dialysis utilization in the incident ESRD Medicare beneficiaries. The very low rates of utilization of these services suggest the need for focused systemic evaluations to identify and address the barriers and facilitators of this important patient-centered endeavor.