Speaker emphasizes early education among patients with CKD improves outcomes
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Educating patients with chronic kidney disease as early as possible and reviewing the basics of kidney treatment can improve outcomes, according to a speaker at the virtual Annual Dialysis Conference.
“Our office started offering an education class in May 2021. [I] and one other nurse practitioner do it for our practice at two of our office locations,” Vanessa Ratcliff, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CNN, from the Nephrology Associates of Dayton in Ohio, said in the presentation. “Our goal is to provide education in an area that seems to lack it; to empower patients to be involved in their care and increase the number of patients doing home dialysis. Early education also helps to ensure they have proper access placed and ready to use before it is emergent start. Our goal is to have patients choose a modality and, if indicated, have access placed by the time glomerular filtration rate is 20 [mL/min/1.73 m2].”
As Medicare only covers six educational classes for patients once they reach stage 4 CKD, Ratcliff noted that planning the most informative classes or meetings with patients is important. Ratcliff reported that most patients required a review of the basics, such as what kidneys do in the human body and how blood pressure impacts kidney disease stages, so lessons should include those topics.
Additionally, Ratcliff suggested physicians tell patients to do simple exercises throughout the day and be conscious about their diets to control blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.
“Make it seem manageable, because patients feel empowered when they feel they can do it,” Ratcliff said. She added, “Early education and repetition of diet modifications help with compliance when they start dialysis.”
In addition to reviewing diet restrictions and kidney functions, it is important to discuss depression and transplant modalities with patients.
Educating patients is crucial to helping them understand their kidney disease and become more confident about treatment, Ratcliff said. Education can slow the progression of kidney disease, especially when patients are given the tools and resources to be more proactive about their health.
“There are so many misunderstandings when it comes to kidney disease and because each patient is different, tailoring the class to what each individual needs helps improve outcomes,” Ratcliff concluded. “Education should not start at stage 5 CKD when they are faced with making quick decisions that are life changing.”
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Ratcliff V. National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDE) and alternative models: What works best? Presented at: Annual Dialysis Conference; March 4-7, 2021 (virtual meeting).
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