Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease Progression by Medicare Advantage Enrollees.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Medicare beneficiaries has quadrupled in the past 2 decades, but little is known about risk factors affecting the progression of CKD. This study aims to understand the progression in Medicare Advantage enrollees and whether it differs by provider recognition of CKD, race and ethnicity, or geographic location. In a large cohort of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees, we examined whether CKD progression, up to 5 years after study entry, differed by demographic and clinical factors and identified additional risk factors of CKD progression. METHODS: In a cohort of 1,002,388 MA enrollees with CKD stages 1-4 based on 2013-2018 labs, progression was estimated using a mixed-effects model that adjusted for demographics, geographic location, comorbidity, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, clinical recognition via diagnosed CKD, and time-fixed effects. Race and ethnicity, geographic location, and clinical recognition of CKD were interacted with time in 3 separate regression models. RESULTS: Mean (median) follow-up was 3.1 (3.0) years. Black and Hispanic MA enrollees had greater kidney function at study entry than other beneficiaries, but their kidney function declined faster. MA enrollees with clinically recognized CKD had estimated glomerular filtration rate levels that were 18.6 units (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.5-18.7) lower than levels of unrecognized patients, but kidney function declined more slowly in enrollees with clinical recognition. There were no differences in CKD progression by geography. After removal of the race coefficient from the eGFR equation in a sensitivity analysis, kidney function was much lower in all years among Black MA enrollees, but patterns of progression remained the same. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that patients with clinically recognized CKD and racial and ethnic minorities merit closer surveillance and management to reduce their risk of faster progression.

Primary Care Physicians' Perceived Barriers to Nephrology Referral and Co-management of Patients with CKD: a Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Effective co-management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) between primary care physicians (PCPs) and nephrologists is increasingly recognized as a key strategy to ensure the delivery of efficient and high-quality CKD care. However, the co-management of patients with CKD remains suboptimal. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify PCPs' perceptions of key barriers and facilitators to effective co-management of patients with CKD at the PCP-nephrology interface. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative study SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Community-based PCPs in four US cities: Baltimore, MD; St. Louis, MO; Raleigh, NC; and San Francisco, CA APPROACH: We conducted four focus groups of PCPs. Two members of the research team coded transcribed audio-recorded interviews and identified major themes. KEY RESULTS: Most of the 32 PCPs (59% internists and 41% family physicians) had been in practice for > 10 years (97%), spent ≥ 80% of their time in clinical care (94%), and practiced in private (69%) or multispecialty group practice (16%) settings. PCPs most commonly identified barriers to effective co-management of patients with CKD focused on difficulty developing working partnerships with nephrologists, including (1) lack of timely adequate information exchange (e.g., consult note not received or CKD care plan unclear); (2) unclear roles and responsibilities between PCPs and nephrologists; and (3) limited access to nephrologists (e.g., unable to obtain timely consultations or easily contact nephrologists with concerns). PCPs expressed a desire for "better communication tools" (e.g., shared electronic medical record) and clear CKD care plans to facilitate improved PCP-nephrology collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions facilitating timely adequate information exchange, clear delineation of roles and responsibilities between PCPs and nephrologists, and greater access to specialist advice may improve the co-management of patients with CKD.

Directed use of the internet for health information by patients with chronic kidney disease: prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Health information technology has become common in the care of patients with chronic diseases; however, there are few such applications employed in kidney disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of a website providing disease-specific safety information by patients with predialysis chronic kidney disease. METHODS: As part of the Safe Kidney Care (SKC) study, an educational website was designed to provide information on safety concerns in chronic kidney disease. Phase I study participants were provided a medical alert accessory with a unique ID number, the Safe Kidney Care website, and an in-person tutorial on the use of the Internet and accessing the SKC website at baseline. Participants were asked to visit the website and enter their unique ID as frequently as they desired over the next 365 days or until their annual follow-up visit, whichever occurred first. Participants' visits and dwell times on specific safety modules were tracked using embedded webpage PHP scripts linked to a MySQL database, enabling the collection of website usage statistics. RESULTS: Of 108 Phase I participants, 28.7% (31/108) visited the website from 1-6 times during the observation period (median follow-up 365 days). Median access time was 7 minutes per visit (range <1-46) and 13 minutes per person (range <1-123). The three most frequently visited pages were "Renal function calculator", "Pills to avoid", and "Foods to avoid". High school education and frequent Internet use were significantly associated with website entry (P=.02 and P=.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results show general interest in a Web-based platform designed to improve patient safety in chronic kidney disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01407367; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01407367 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6KvxFKA6M).

Life Course Socioeconomic Status, Allostatic Load, and Kidney Health in Black Americans.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Low socioeconomic status confers unfavorable health, but the degree and mechanisms by which life course socioeconomic status affects kidney health is unclear. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We examined the association between cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status and CKD in black Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. We used conditional process analysis to evaluate allostatic load as a potential mediator of this relation. Cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status was an age-standardized z-score, which has 1-SD units by definition, and derived from self-reported childhood socioeconomic status, education, and income at baseline. Allostatic load encompassed 11 baseline biomarkers subsuming neuroendocrine, metabolic, autonomic, and immune physiologic systems. CKD outcomes included prevalent CKD at baseline and eGFR decline and incident CKD over follow-up. RESULTS: Among 3421 participants at baseline (mean age 55 years [SD 13]; 63% female), cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status ranged from -3.3 to 2.3, and 673 (20%) had prevalent CKD. After multivariable adjustment, lower cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status was associated with greater prevalence of CKD both directly (odds ratio [OR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.04 to 1.33 per 1 SD and OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.83 in lowest versus highest tertile) and via higher allostatic load (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.12 per 1 SD and OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.24 in lowest versus highest tertile). After a median follow-up of 8 years (interquartile range, 7-8 years), mean annual eGFR decline was 1 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (SD 2), and 254 out of 2043 (12%) participants developed incident CKD. Lower cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status was only indirectly associated with greater CKD incidence (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.07 per 1 SD and OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.14 in lowest versus highest tertile) and modestly faster annual eGFR decline, in milliliters per minute (OR, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.02 per 1 SD and OR, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.04 in lowest versus highest tertile), via higher baseline allostatic load. CONCLUSIONS: Lower cumulative lifetime socioeconomic status was substantially associated with CKD prevalence but modestly with CKD incidence and eGFR decline via baseline allostatic load.

Use of a Medical-Alert Accessory in CKD: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Poor disease recognition may jeopardize the safety of CKD care. We examined safety events and outcomes in patients with CKD piloting a medical-alert accessory intended to improve disease recognition and an observational subcohort from the same population. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We recruited 350 patients with stage 2-5 predialysis CKD. The first (pilot) 108 participants were given a medical-alert accessory (bracelet or necklace) indicating the diagnosis of CKD and displaying a website with safe CKD practices. The subsequent (observation) subcohort (n=242) received usual care. All participants underwent annual visits with ascertainment of patient-reported events (class 1) and actionable safety findings (class 2). Secondary outcomes included 50% GFR reduction, ESKD, and death. Cox proportional hazards assessed the association of the medical-alert accessory with outcomes. RESULTS: Median follow-up of pilot and observation subcohorts were 52 (interquartile range, 44-63) and 37 (interquartile range, 27-47) months, respectively. The frequency of class 1 and class 2 safety events reported at annual visits was not different in the pilot versus observation group, with 108.7 and 100.6 events per 100 patient-visits (P=0.13), and 38.3 events and 41.2 events per 100 patient visits (P=0.23), respectively. The medical-alert accessory was associated with lower crude and adjusted rate of ESKD versus the observation group (hazard ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.20 to 0.89; and hazard ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.16 to 0.94, respectively). The association of the medical-alert accessory with the composite endpoint of ESKD or 50% reduction GFR was variable over time but appeared to have an early benefit (up to 23 months) with its use. There was no significant difference in incidence of hospitalization, death, or a composite of all outcomes between medical-alert accessory users and the observational group. CONCLUSIONS: The medical-alert accessory was not associated with incidence of safety events but was associated with a lower rate of ESKD relative to usual care.

A mobile application improves therapy-adherence rates in elderly patients undergoing rehabilitation: A crossover design study comparing documentation via iPad with paper-based control.

Medication adherence is crucial for success in the management of patients with chronic conditions. This study analyzes whether a mobile application on a tablet aimed at supporting drug intake and vital sign parameter documentation affects adherence in elderly patients.Patients with coronary heart disease and no prior knowledge of tablet computers were recruited. They received a personal introduction to the mobile application Medication Plan, installed on an Apple iPad. The study was conducted using a crossover design with 3 sequences: initial phase, interventional phase (28 days of using the app system), and comparative phase (28 days of using a paper diary). Users experienced the interventional and comparative phases alternately.A total of 24 patients (12 males; mean age 73.8 years) were enrolled in the study. The mean for subjectively assessed adherence (A14-scale; 5-point Likert scale, from "never" to "very often" which results in a score from 0 to 56) before the study was 50.0 (SD = 3.44). After both interventions there was a significant increase, which was more pronounced after the interventional phase (54.0; SD = 2.01) than after the comparative phase (52.6; SD = 2.49) (for all pairs after both interventions, P <0.001). Neither medical conditions nor the number of drug intake (amount and frequency of drug taking) per day affected subjective adherence. Logging data showed a significantly stronger adherence for the medication app than the paper system for both blood pressure recordings (P <0.001) and medication intake (P = 0.033). The majority of participants (n = 22) stated that they would like to use the medication app in their daily lives and would not need further assistance with the app.A mobile app for medication adherence increased objectively and subjectively measured adherence in elderly users undergoing rehabilitation. The findings have promising clinical implications: digital tools can assist chronic disease patients achieve adherence to medication and to blood pressure measurement. Although this requires initial offline training, it can reduce complications and clinical overload because of nonadherence.

The last mile: translational research to improve CKD outcomes.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-supported Kidney Research National Dialogue asked the scientific community to formulate and prioritize research objectives that would enhance understanding of kidney function and disease and improve clinical outcomes. An engaged and growing group of investigators working in type 2 translation (from clinical evidence to implementation in the community) identified barriers to improving patient care in CKD and suggested research priorities to test translational strategies that have been effective for other chronic diseases.

User profiles of a smartphone application to support drug adherence--experiences from the iNephro project.

PURPOSE: One of the key problems in the drug therapy of patients with chronic conditions is drug adherence. In 2010 the initiative iNephro was launched (www.inephro.de). A software to support regular and correct drug intake was developed for a smartphone platform (iOS). The study investigated whether and how smartphone users deployed such an application. METHODS: Together with cooperating partners the mobile application "Medikamentenplan" ("Medication Plan") was developed. Users are able to keep and alter a list of their regular medication. A memory function supports regular intake. The application can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store™ by Apple™. After individual consent of users from December 2010 to April 2012 2042338 actions were recorded and analysed from the downloaded applications. Demographic data were collected from 2279 users with a questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall the application was used by 11688 smartphone users. 29% (3406/11688) used it at least once a week for at least four weeks. 27% (3209/11688) used the application for at least 84 days. 68% (1554/2279) of users surveyed were male, the stated age of all users was between 6-87 years (mean 44). 74% of individuals (1697) declared to be suffering from cardiovascular disease, 13% (292) had a previous history of transplantation, 9% (205) were suffering from cancer, 7% (168) reported an impaired renal function and 7% (161) suffered from diabetes mellitus. 69% (1568) of users were on <6 different medications, 9% (201) on 6 - 10 and 1% (26) on more than 10. CONCLUSION: A new smartphone application, which supports drug adherence, was used regularly by chronically ill users with a wide range of diseases over a longer period of time. The majority of users so far were middle-aged and male.

Primary care-specialist collaboration in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Collaboration between primary care physicians (PCPs) and nephrologists in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is widely advocated, but physician preferences regarding collaboration are unknown. Physicians' desires to collaborate in the care of a hypothetical patient with CKD, their preferred content of collaboration, and their perceived barriers to collaboration were assessed. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: A questionnaire describing the care of a hypothetical patient with progressive CKD was administered to a national sample of U.S. PCPs and nephrologists. Physician characteristics and attitudes associated with desires to collaborate were identified. RESULTS: Among 124 PCPs and 120 nephrologists, most physicians (85% PCPs versus 94% nephrologists) desired collaboration. Nephrologists were more likely than PCPs to prefer collaboration focus on predialysis/renal replacement therapy preparation and electrolyte management (73% versus 52% and 81% versus 46%, respectively). PCPs were more likely to desire collaboration if the hypothetical patient had diabetes and hypertension (versus hypertension alone), if they believed the care they provide helps slow CKD disease progression, and if they did not perceive health insurance as a barrier to nephrology referral (adjusted percentages [95% confidence interval]: 94% [80 to 98] versus 75% [reference]), 92% [75 to 98] versus 75% [reference], 42% [9 to 85] versus 88% [reference], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Most PCPs and nephrologists favored collaborative care for a patient with progressive CKD, but their preferred content of collaboration differed. Collaborative models that explicitly include PCPs in the care of patients with CKD may help improve patients' clinical outcomes.