Kidney Care Community News

A study review showed exercise has a beneficial impact on patients with varying stages of kidney disease but, because most of the studies focused on those already on dialysis, the researchers urge physical activity be considered earlier.

Adults who receive maintenance hemodialysis 2 or more times per week expressed interest in an online patient community that includes access to a registered dietitian, according to survey results.

A speaker at the virtual Global Innovations in Patient-Centered Kidney Care: International Summit reviewed the benefits of telehealth, which was expanded by CMS in March as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In collaboration with the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the National Kidney Foundation has developed a kidney health evaluation measure designed specifically for patients with diabetes.

During the virtual KidneyX Summit, the HHS and the American Society of Nephrology announced the six winners of phase 2 of the Redesign Dialysis competition, which was launched in November 2019.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Texas, Stephen Z. Fadem, MD, FASN, of Baylor College of Medicine, detailed some practices implemented by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston.

Study results demonstrated that, in several states across the country, neighborhoods with less “socioeconomic deprivation” and a greater concentration of white residents have higher organ donor registration rates.

Recently published findings suggest patients receiving in-center hemodialysis may experience increased mortality risk following exposure to air pollution from wildfire smoke.

Dialysis companies in the United States have weathered natural disasters during the last 2 decades – tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes. Massive flooding from Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago in New Orleans and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 in Houston, where staff members had to be ferried down flooded streets by boat to stranded dialysis clinics, were handled by organized disaster teams. Protocols were in place to ensure patients received dialysis early and were sent to other clinics unaffected by the flooding.

On July 6, CMS issued a proposed rule for the End-stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System, which expands its transitional add-on payment adjustment for innovative dialysis equipment and supplies, focusing on items for home use.