Collaborative Educational Initiative To Focus On Early Treatment Of Chronic Kidney Disease

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 18 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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Improving the identification and early treatment of people with chronic kidney disease, and associated complications such as anemia is the focus of a new educational partnership among The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing, the National Kidney Foundation/Kidney Learning System (NKF/KLS), the Institute for Clinical Excellence, Education and Research (ICEER), the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (BMJPG), the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) and Gullapalli and Associates, LLC. The goal is to foster dialogue among clinicians served by all the organizations and reinforce best practices in the medical community, ultimately affecting and improving patients' lives. The group will develop and deliver innovative and integrated medical education programming that incorporates the latest evidence-based science and information, using various media channels, and customized for clinicians including primary care physicians, nephrologists, pharmacists and allied health professionals.

According to Joseph Vassalotti, MD, National Kidney Foundation Chief Medical Officer, "Finding patients with CKD early and treating their disease and complications aggressively are critical to improving patient outcomes. Unfortunately, study after study has shown that many cases of early kidney disease are missed. We anticipate that this new educational partnership will reach out to a broader base of clinicians who are seeing patients with early kidney disease and expand our mutual messages with new educational programs and resources so that patients may benefit from early intervention and aggressive care management."

Twenty million people have CKD according to the NKF and another 20 million are at risk, yet remain unaware, uninformed, and undiagnosed. Because many healthcare providers outside the nephrology practice arena focus on specific diseases and treatment/care processes specific to their specialty or presenting problem, CKD often remains unaddressed until it may be too late for appropriate intervention. The impact of short and long term complications such as anemia, bone disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes contribute to morbidity and early mortality.

To help bridge this gap between current knowledge and its application in patient care the partners plan to develop targeted, multifaceted and synergistic educational programs designed to deliver educational content in practical, relevant and case-based formats. The initiative will commence with an intense planning meeting between CKD thought leaders and the collaborative partners to develop program content which will be leveraged through multiple educational vehicles, resources, tools and enduring materials.

Program components will include: live video broadcasts to US hospitals, a series of multidisciplinary regional meetings, a unique Primary Care/Nephrology mentorship program, online web casts at the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Learning System website, a special CKD supplement in American Journal of Nursing, a published monograph, and practical web-based downloadable tools and resources housed on the Johns Hopkins and NKF websites.

"Opportunities abound to improve the care of the patient with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Educating healthcare professionals regarding the traditional and non-traditional risk factors for CKD including disease screening, staging and diagnosis, disease course, treatment and care of patients is critical." says Todd Dorman, MD, FCCM, Associate Dean and Director, CME, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Backgrounder

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

In July 2006, U.S. News & World ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital #1 among American hospitals for the 16th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins remains the nation's leading medical school recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health. In 2006, the Johns Hopkins Office of CME received "Accreditation With Commendation" for 6 years, the highest ranking issued by the ACCME. Hopkins' CME has been recognized as a center for "Best Practices" as a resource to ACCME-accredited providers. For more information please visit www.hopkinscme.net.

The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing

The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing designs and delivers leading-edge continuing education for nurses. The Institute accesses the expertise of faculty and nurses from both the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and Johns Hopkins Hospital, including over 2500 highly skilled clinicians in 10 clinical and countless subspecialty areas who are also world-renowned researchers and educators. For more information please visit www.son.jhmi.edu

. BMJ Publishing Group

BMJ Publishing Group is one of the world leaders in medical publishing. The Group publishes the British Medical Journal (BMJ), 22 leading journals covering major medical specialties, BMJ Clinical Evidence and several other evidence-based decision-support resources. The mission of the Group is to publish intellectually sound material that will serve the needs of doctors, other health professionals, the scientific community and the public. For more information please visit www.bmjpg.com.

National Kidney Foundation/Kidney Learning System (NKF/KLS)

The National Kidney Foundation, Inc., a major voluntary health organization, seeks to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation. NKF's KDOQI evidence-based practice guidelines are the leading resource in the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). NKF's KLS develops and implements comprehensive educational resources for public health, patients and families and medical professionals across all disciplines through a wide variety of learning formats, CME/CE programs, tools and resources. For more information please visit www.kidney.org.

Institute for Clinical Excellence, Education and Research (ICEER)

ICEER is dedicated to providing educational programming that uses current research findings and other evidence to expand clinical knowledge and to transform clinical practice behavior. ICEER provides essential education and services specific to patients with chronic kidney disease. ICEER collaborates with its partners to provide a stimulating educational experience that includes the incorporation of current evidence-based guidelines and practice standards. For more information please visit www.iceer.org.

American Journal of Nursing (AJN)

The American Journal of Nursing is the oldest and largest circulating nursing journal in the world. Clinical articles focus on acute care, health promotion and prevention, rehabilitation, emergencies, critical care, home health care, etc. Columns present additional perspectives on clinical care, such as ethics, the law, practice errors, pain and symptom management, and professional issues. For more information please visit www.ajnonline.com.

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA)

PCNA is the leading nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals. For more information please visit www.pcna.net.

Gullapalli and Associates:

Gullapalli and Associates, LLC (G&A) is a consulting firm specializing in providing evidence based communications strategies to the healthcare industry. Our mission is to enhance patient care and outcomes through facilitating strategic collaboration between key stakeholders. For more information please visit www.gullapalliandassoc.com.