Dugan W. Maddux

The role of the medical director: changing with the times.

The role of the dialysis unit Medical Director has evolved over time to an expanded set of roles from one that used to be strictly “medical” to one that is more “managerial.” Physicians providing these Medical Director services are facing increasing demands for a leadership role regarding clinical quality improvement and measurement of performance in core areas of care within the dialysis program. The dialysis Medical Director is asked to lead in group decision‐making, in analyzing core process and patient outcomes and in stimulating a team approach to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and patient safety. For the end‐stage renal disease program, national quality expectations in dialysis care have stimulated the dialysis providers to measure, report and respond consistently in an effort to provide a higher level of cost‐efficient care. Medical Directors are usually contractually linked to the dialysis programs for which they provide oversight and their contracts are explicit about the relationship they maintain and the role they are expected to play within dialysis companies (often called “provider organizations”). The evolution of the Medical Director role has led to a close relationship between the company that provides the dialysis services and the physician providing the medical oversight.

The Role of Medical Directors in Dialysis Facilities Series Editor: Robert A. Gutman: The Role of the Medical Director: Changing with the Times

The role of the dialysis unit Medical Director has evolved over time to an expanded set of roles from one that used to be strictly “medical” to one that is more “managerial.” Physicians providing these Medical Director services are facing increasing demands for a leadership role regarding clinical quality improvement and measurement of performance in core areas of care within the dialysis program. The dialysis Medical Director is asked to lead in group decision‐making, in analyzing core process and patient outcomes and in stimulating a team approach to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and patient safety. For the end‐stage renal disease program, national quality expectations in dialysis care have stimulated the dialysis providers to measure, report and respond consistently in an effort to provide a higher level of cost‐efficient care. Medical Directors are usually contractually linked to the dialysis programs for which they provide oversight and their contracts are explicit about the relationship they maintain and the role they are expected to play within dialysis companies (often called “provider organizations”). The evolution of the Medical Director role has led to a close relationship between the company that provides the dialysis services and the physician providing the medical oversight.

Development and testing of prediction models for end stage kidney disease patient nonadherence to renal replacement treatment regimens utilizing big data and healthcare informatics

In patients with end stage kidney disease (ESKD), renal replacement therapy assumes some functions of the diseased kidney and is required to sustain life. Hemodialysis (HD) is the primary modality for treatment of ESKD and includes treatments to filter the bodys toxins from the blood three times per week. It has been shown that nonadherence with dialysis treatment regimens is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, even with missing one routine session of HD [1][2]. We aimed to utilize clinical and nonclinical data sources to develop predictive models (PMs) that identify patients with a high probability of not attending their HD treatments within the following week.

Clinical parameters before and after the transition to dialysis

Introduction: The transition from pre‐dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) to post‐dialysis start is a critical period associated with high patient mortality and increased hospital admissions. Little is known about the trends of key clinical and laboratory parameters through this time of transition to start dialysis.

Effects of renal care coordinator case management on outcomes in incident dialysis patients

BACKGROUND Pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) care impacts dialysis start and incident dialysis outcomes. We describe the use of late stage CKD population data coupled with CKD case management to improve dialysis start. METHODS The Renal Care Coordinator (RCC) program is a nephrology practice and Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) partnership involving a case manager resource and data analytics. We studied patients starting dialysis between August 1, 2009 and February 28, 2013 in 9 nephrology practices partnering in the RCC program. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match patients who had participated in the RCC program to patients who had not. Primary outcomes were use of a permanent access or peritoneal dialysis (PD) at first outpatient dialysis. Serum albumin at the first outpatient dialysis treatment and mortality and hospitalization rates in the first 120 days of dialysis were secondary outcomes. RESULTS In the nephrology practices studied, 7,626 patients started dialysis. Of these, 738 patients (9.7%) were enrolled in the RCC program; 693 RCC patients (93.9%) were matched with 693 patients who did not participate in the RCC program. Logistic regression analysis indicates that RCC program patients are more likely to start PD or use a permanent vascular access at dialysis start and are more likely to start treatment with a serum albumin level ≥ 4.0 g/ dL. CONCLUSION Late stage CKD data-driven case management is associated with a higher rate of PD use, lower central venous catheter (CVC) use, and higher albumin levels at first outpatient dialysis.

TRANSITION PERIOD CLINICAL TRAJECTORIES FOR PD VERSUS HD STARTERS

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) starters generally have a better outcome compared with hemodialysis (HD) starters, perhaps related to treatment characteristics or case mix. We previously showed that pre- and post-dialysis start clinical parameter trajectories are related to outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate these trajectories in PD and HD starters. Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzing data from the Fresenius Medical Care–chronic kidney disease (CKD) Registry from January 2009 to March 2018 examines trends in key clinical parameters through the transition period covering 12 months before to 12 months after dialysis start in 8,088 HD and 1,015 PD starters. Results: Hemodialysis starters differed from PD starters by a significantly greater decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slope (-0.64 vs -0.45 mL/min/1.73 m2/month) before and higher eGFR (9.85 vs 7.84 mL/min/1.73 m2) at dialysis start. Relatedly, differences in phosphorus (0.07 vs 0.05 mg/dL/month) and hemoglobin (-0.08 vs -0.01 g/dL/month) slopes before the transition to dialysis therapy were observed. After dialysis start, HD starters experienced a greater increase in albumin (0.01 vs 0 g/dL/month) whereas PD starters experienced a decline in serum sodium and higher white blood cell counts compared with HD starters. Conclusion: For nephrology practice CKD patients, HD and PD starters appear clinically comparable in the year before dialysis start although HD starters exhibit a more rapid pre-dialytic eGFR decline. Ideally, studies comparing incident HD and PD outcomes should also consider CKD eGFR trajectories. In the first dialysis year, divergence occurs in albumin, white blood cell count, sodium and hemoglobin trends, which may be partly treatment-related.

The Association of Weekly pre-Hemodialysis Systolic Blood Pressure and Following Week Mortality

Background/Aims: Few studies examine the impact of systolic blood pressure (SBP) on mortality in the incident hemodialysis (HD) period, and throughout the first HD year. This large retrospective observational study analyzes the impact of “current” and cumulative low preSBP <110 mmHg (L), and variations in preSBP on short-term (1 week) mortality over the first HD year. Methods: Weekly mean preSBP for HD weeks 1 to 51 was categorized into L or high preSBP>=110 mmHg (H) for each patient. A generalized linear model (GLM) was used to compute the probability of death in the following week. The model includes age, gender, race and three preSBP-related parameters: (a) percent of prior weeks with L preSBP; (b) percent of prior weeks with switching between L to H; (c) “current” week’s preSBP as a binary variable. Separate models were constructed that include demographics and BP-related parameters (a), (b), and (c) separately. Results: In a model combining (a), (b), and (c) above, “current” week L preSBP is associated with increased odds ratio for following week mortality throughout the first HD year. The percent of prior week’s L and more switching between L and H are less significantly associated with short-term mortality. In models including (a), (b), and (c) separately, “current” L preSBP is associated with higher mortality. Conclusion: This study confirms an association of L preSBP with increased short-term mortality which is maintained over the first HD year. Percent of L preSBP in prior weeks, switching between L and H, and “current” week L are all associated with short-term mortality risk, but “current” week L preSBP is most significant.

The Role of Medical Directors in Dialysis Facilities Series Editor: Robert A. Gutman: The Role of the Medical Director: Changing with the Times: MEDICAL DIRECTOR: CHANGING WTH THE TIMES

The role of the dialysis unit Medical Director has evolved over time to an expanded set of roles from one that used to be strictly “medical” to one that is more “managerial.” Physicians providing these Medical Director services are facing increasing demands for a leadership role regarding clinical quality improvement and measurement of performance in core areas of care within the dialysis program. The dialysis Medical Director is asked to lead in group decision‐making, in analyzing core process and patient outcomes and in stimulating a team approach to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and patient safety. For the end‐stage renal disease program, national quality expectations in dialysis care have stimulated the dialysis providers to measure, report and respond consistently in an effort to provide a higher level of cost‐efficient care. Medical Directors are usually contractually linked to the dialysis programs for which they provide oversight and their contracts are explicit about the relationship they maintain and the role they are expected to play within dialysis companies (often called “provider organizations”). The evolution of the Medical Director role has led to a close relationship between the company that provides the dialysis services and the physician providing the medical oversight.