Description

There are just under one million people with CKD in North Carolina, not including those with kidney failure. Many individuals who have, or are at risk of developing, CKD are unaware of this problem, and fail to obtain appropriate care that can help them manage their health problems. This health issue disproportionately impacts African American and Native American populations.

The NCIOM Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force was asked to develop a plan to:

• Reduce the occurrence of CKD by controlling the most common risk factors, diabetes and hypertension, through preventive efforts at the community level and disease management efforts in the primary care setting;
• Educate the public and health care professionals about the advantages and methods of early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic kidney disease and its complications based on the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative Clinical Practice Guidelines for CKD or other medically recognized clinical practice guidelines;
• Educate healthcare professionals about early renal replacement therapy education for patients (including in center dialysis, home hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis as well as vascular access options and transplantation) prior to the onset of end-stage renal disease when kidney function is declining;
• Make recommendations on the implementation of a cost effective plan for prevention, early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of CKD and its complications for the State’s population; and
• Identify current barriers to adoption of best practices and potential policy options to address these barriers.

The findings and recommendations of the task force are presented in its report.