DaVita Medical Insights

DaVita Inc.
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DaVita Medical Insights is the place for conversation among physicians regarding kidney care, dialysis treatment and delivering excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. This podcast is brought to you by DaVita Inc.

  1. 12/03/2020

    Moderation Versus Elimination for Kidney-Friendly Diets

    Listen to this podcast, in which Sara Colman, RD, CDE, the manager of Kidney Care Nutrition for DaVita interviews Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, a dietitian for DaVita in Longview, Texas, on the importance of clinicians emphasizing moderation rather than elimination in a kidney-friendly diet. Natalie and Sara discuss the typical diets for end stage kidney disease patients on dialysis, including the different modalities of peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis and in-center dialysis. They examine how the kidney diet compares to some of the generally popular diets, what some of the biggest misconceptions are about kidney friendly diets, what some of the common barriers are that prevent diet adherence, how nutrition can affect quality of life, what overall goals dietitians have for their patients, how clinicians can advise patients to incorporate some of their favorite foods, even those that are not kidney friendly, in their diets and how to use the recipes on davita.com in meal planning and other nutrition resources available to patients and clinicians. Podcast Transcript:   Sarah Colman, RD, CDE (00:43): Hello, and welcome to the DaVita Medical Insights Podcast. My name is Sarah Colman, RD, CDE and I'm the davita.com nutrition manager for DaVita kidney care. Over the past decade, we've seen a shift from a strict mineral based kidney diet to one that includes more healthy whole foods and even questioning the benefits of the old kidney diet. Today's can they diet continues to evolve with even more research. I'm excited to join on the phone today by Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, a dietician for DaVita in Longview, Texas, as we discuss the importance of clinicians emphasizing moderation rather than elimination and kidney friendly diet. Thank you for joining us, Natalie. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (01:28): Hi, Sarah. Thank you for having me today. I'm very excited to be here and to be able to speak on such an important topic. Sarah Colman, RD, CDE (01:36): Great. Well, let's get started. Can you tell me about the typical diets for end-stage kidney disease patients on dialysis, including modalities such as peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis and in-center dialysis? Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (01:52): Yes, I do have a little disclaimer first. The diet guidelines that I'm talking about today are focused on patients who have what we call end-stage kidney disease. So they are on some form of dialysis. Nutrition recommendations are very different for people with chronic kidney disease, stage one through four or those trying to preserve remaining kidney function. So just to be clear, these diet guidelines we're going to talk about are focused on patients who are receiving dialysis treatment. So the most basic diet guidelines, once a patient's on a high protein diet, the dialysis treatment increases their calorie needs, their protein needs, so we do need them to increase their protein intake, which is something they may have not been used to if they had been following a low protein diet prior to dialysis. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (02:55): We also want them to limit their potassium intake. So certain fruits and vegetables are going to be high in potassium. We would want them to try to limit those, cut back as much as possible. We also want them to watch their phosphorus intake. That's usually found in foods either naturally or sometimes your food companies add that as a preservative. So that's another thing that they have to watch out for. Low salt or low sodium is another one of the diet recommendations, and then low fluids. So sometimes patients on dialysis, you have to limit their fluid intake to avoid gaining too much fluid in their body. So that's pretty common for them to have to follow. Now, those are typically the recommendations for the in-center dialysis patients. Those are the patients that are coming usually three treatments a week. For the patients doing home dialysis, they may be doing shorter, more frequent dialysis treatments, so they may not have to be quite as strict with their diet. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (04:14): Then they get a little more wiggle room since they are doing more frequent treatment. Then with PD, or peritoneal dialysis, the PD solution absolutely removes more potassium from the blood than just your standard hemodialysis. So those patients actually may have to follow a high potassium diet. They may be encouraged to eat certain foods that your in-center or your home dialysis patients are told to limit. Then also the PD solution is a kind of a sugar solution, so your body does absorb some of those calories. So this can cause problems with weight gain or blood sugar levels, so they may have to work with their dietician to try to modify their calorie or their carbohydrate intake. Sarah Colman, RD, CDE (05:12): Well, sounds like a lot to remember when it comes to kidney diets. Good thing we have the dieticians there to help work with patients and guide them in what they need for their individual needs. So we know that there's a lot of diets out there. It seems like every month or so we have a new popular fad diet. We have people who are eating keto or very low carb. We have other healthy type diets like Mediterranean Diet. So overall, how does the kidney diet compare to some of these popular diets or general healthy eating recommendations? Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (05:49): Yes, you're right. It seems like every month there's a news fad diet popping up. So usually when you hear the word diet, we think of cutting out certain foods or food groups or restricting yourself to a certain calorie amount until you reach a goal. So there's some sort of end goal in mind, like a certain dress size or a pants size or a number on the sale. There's some goal that the people following these diets are trying to reach. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (06:28): So the difference between that and the kidney diet is the kidney diet is lifelong. Of course, we do have certain, I'll say, goals that we want you to achieve. We want certain blood levels to be within target ranges. We want you to meet what we call your target weight when you come in to your treatment. So we do have small goals, but as far as the true end goal, there really isn't one. This is a lifelong way of eating. So we really want to work with our patients and help them create actions that they can implement forever. Sarah Colman, RD, CDE (07:16): Natalie, I find that there are a lot of patients who come to dialysis with so much confusion, and I think part of that is because in earlier stages of kidney disease, they may or may not need a low potassium diet. They may be restricting protein to help decrease waste buildup in their blood. Then a person comes to dialysis, all of a sudden they may not be eliminating enough fluid, the kidneys are starting to shut down more and more. So I think this causes a lot of confusion when a person comes to the dialysis center and starts dialyzing, and they're unsure. They have mixed messages about what to eat, what not to eat, what their allowances are. So in your eyes, what are some of the biggest misconceptions that you hear about kidney friendly diets? Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (08:08): Some of the biggest things that I hear that are definitely not true is that you can never eat a high potassium fruit or vegetable ever again. Probably the most common high potassium fruits or vegetables are bananas, tomatoes, avocados. So it's definitely a myth that you can never, ever have a single bite of those foods ever again if you're on dialysis. If anyone has ever looked at the DaVita website with our recipe book or cookbook, we have recipes that have avocados, tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, but they're all in moderation or smaller portions. So we still do want to work these foods into our diet. They can provide a lot of flavor, a lot of color to our meals, but we just have to watch how much we eat at one time. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (09:16): Another myth is that the diet is just simply too hard to follow, and yes, it is very complex, but it's not impossible. We're not asking our patients to track their potassium intake down to the very last milligram. I don't ask mine to even really track their grams of protein. We simplify it as much as we can and try to make it very doable. So I encouraged them to do more of just asking themselves, "Does this meal include any high protein food?" So rather than count grams of protein, I just want them to say if a high protein food is included in the meal. So for example, a patient told me yesterday that their breakfast was usually a couple pieces of toast and some black coffee. So we talked about how that didn't have a lot of protein in it. So we talked about adding an egg or two to try to get their protein intake up. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (10:31): So once you're sure you've got some good protein with that meal, I encourage them to ask themselves, "Are there any high potassium foods that I need to watch out for?" So if they are out at a restaurant, if the side for their meal was going to be potatoes, which we know have a lot of potassium in them, if that's something they're trying to cut back on, then we can see if we can swap that out for a lower potassium vegetable. Then third question is, "Are there any high phosphorus foods I should be careful of?" So I teach my patients to be able to identify some typical hight phosphorus foods, which ones to try to avoid as much as possible and which ones to cut back on. So for example, cheese is one of the more common high phosphorus foods. So I encourage them to either use a smaller portion or ask for the tea to be put on the side of the plate so that they can control the amount on there. Natalie Sexton, MS, RDN, CSR, LD (11:41): So I would say compared to calorie counting and macro counting and the true keto diet where you're watching every last gram of carb

  2. 11/13/2020

    The Importance of Influenza Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Receiving the influenza vaccine has always been important for patients with kidney disease, but the COVID-19 pandemic makes influenza vaccinations even more crucial now. Listen to this podcast, in which Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, CNN, chief nursing officer for DaVita Kidney Care interviews Jeffrey Giullian, MD MBA, FASN, chief medical officer for DaVita on why influenza vaccination is so crucial and whom he recommends be vaccinated during the pandemic. Dr. Giullian and Mandy also dispel some myths about the flu vaccine, state which form of the vaccine is most effective, discuss the benefits and safety concerns of getting vaccinated during spikes of COVID-19 prevalence in patients’ communities and provide guidance for clinicians in speaking with patients about influenza vaccination. Podcast Transcript: Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (00:44): Hello and welcome to the DaVita Medical Insight Podcast. My name is Mandy Tilton and I have the honor of being the chief nursing officer for DaVita Kidney Care. I'm excited today to be joined on the phone with Dr. Jeffrey Guillian, who is our chief medical officer for DaVita, and today we will discuss the importance of influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for joining us, Dr. G. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (01:12): Hey Mandy, I'm glad to be able to speak with you on such an important and timely topic. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (01:18): Timely it is. Receiving the influenza vaccine has always been important, but why does the COVID-19 pandemic make it even more crucial now? Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (01:29): Well, Mandy, as I'm sure you can imagine, the flu season is going to be particularly complicated this year given the similarities in symptoms between influenza virus and COVID. And more than any other year, it's really important that all patients and teammates get vaccinated for the flu. Last season, unfortunately, less than half of all Americans got a flu vaccine and at least 410,000 people were hospitalized. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (01:54): And remember, that although we don't yet have a vaccine for COVID, we do have a vaccine for the flu. And by getting the flu vaccine, you are also helping to protect the people around you. And this is something known as herd immunity. If the majority of the population is vaccinated against the flu, it then reduces the entire community's risk, particularly for vulnerable patients. And preventing the flu supports good stewardship of resources. Even if your illness doesn't require a hospitalization, it helps avoid visits to the doctor, where you might go if you want to confirm that you actually do have the flu. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (02:31): And knowing all of this, who do you think should be recommended to obtain influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (02:41): Well, annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone six months of age or older, so that's certainly all of us listening, except for rare exception, because it is an effective way to decrease the flu illness, decrease hospitalizations, and certainly to decrease deaths. During the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the overall burden of respiratory illness is an important way to protect vulnerable populations at risk for severe illnesses, and it protects the health care system, and it protects critical infrastructure. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (03:12): And I want to highlight one vulnerable population, and that's obviously our patients, those with kidney disease. This group of individuals is at high risk for both severe COVID and severe flu. Clinicians should use every opportunity during the influenza vaccination season to administer influenza vaccines to every eligible person. And time is of the essence. It takes around two weeks after the vaccination to achieve immunity, so don't wait until your friend or your neighbor tells you that they've got the flu. Get vaccinated now. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (03:45): And that brings up an important point. I have certainly heard some people say they are planning on getting the flu vaccine this year because they're already wearing a mask. Now, Mandy, what is your suggested guidance for clinicians who are approached with this thought, by either their patients or their colleagues? Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (04:01): Well, that is an important thing to cover. A mask is great and it is a really important barrier for infections, but it's certainly not perfect for stopping the spread of flu. I would encourage us to think about it this way. When we get into cars, we put on seatbelt. I'm guessing most of us all do that even though our car may have safety features like airbags, but we want to keep ourselves as safe as possible. And while the airbags are great and helpful, combined with the seatbelt, they're even better. The same is really true when we think about fighting the flu. Masks are great. In this case, they're your airbags. The vaccine, however, is your seatbelt. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (04:47): And while we're on the subject of dispelling this, can you help us answer a question that many of us are hearing from patients and others? And that question is, can I get the flu from the flu shot? Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (05:02): No, you cannot. You absolutely cannot get influenza from the flu shot. You can get a sore arm, and trust me, I just got my flu shot and my arm was sore. And you can get some achiness, which is proof that your immune system is waking up and becoming activated, but you cannot get the influenza virus itself. Real influenza is a life-threatening viral infection. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (05:25): Help me, Mandy, if individuals do want to get the flu vaccine, what is your suggested guidance on receiving the nasal flu preparation in its place? Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (05:36): The injectable form of the vaccine has proven to be more effective, but even the nasal option is more effective against influenza than receiving no vaccine at all. It's important to remember though, that the nasal spray is not for everyone, particularly those with a compromised immune system. If you or a patient are interested in the nasal spray vaccine, please do first discuss this with your physician. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (06:06): Dr. G, can you help provide some insight on whether the influenza vaccine will protect individuals against COVID-19? Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (06:16): Well, sure, Mandy. I think it's important to remember that getting an influenza vaccine will not protect against COVID-19 directly; however, influenza vaccination has many other important benefits. Influenza vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of getting the influenza virus and the illness, and hence hospitalizations and deaths. And getting an influenza vaccine this fall will be more important than ever, not only to reduce your risk from the flu, but also to help conserve potentially scarce healthcare resources as we discussed earlier. Many intensive care units are already full with people with COVID. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (06:52): Now, Mandy, how would you suggest clinicians respond to patients who wonder if it's safe to get an influenza vaccine if COVID-19 is spreading in their community? Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (07:01): Well, as clinicians, we can remind patients to practice everyday preventative actions and follow CDC recommendations for things like running essential errands. We can tell patients to ask their doctors, pharmacists, or health departments whether they are following the CDC's vaccination pandemic guidance. And any vaccination location following CDC's guidance should be a safe place for them to obtain their influenza vaccination. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (07:36): I think we've covered a lot, but do you have any additional guidance for clinicians as they speak with patients about the influenza vaccine? Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (07:45): Absolutely. Please remember, people call lots of bad colds the flu, and this is unfortunate and it's not accurate. The real influenza A and B viruses can be life-threatening and make you feel much, much worse than a bad cold. The flu vaccine doesn't stop you from getting a cold, even a bad one, it does, however significantly reduce the risk that you or your patients or your loved ones will get the actual flu, and that, that might just save a life. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (08:18): Well, Dr. G, thank you for joining me and discussing the importance of influenza vaccination during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Jeffrey Guillian (08:28): Well, thanks for having me, Mandy. I appreciate you having this opportunity. Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, RN (08:32): And listeners, thank you all for tuning in and be sure to check out other DaVita Medical Insights episodes for more kidney care educational podcasts. You can also find additional kidney care thoughts, leadership and industry news by following @DaVitaDoc on Twitter.

  3. 09/09/2020

    How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Affected Kidney Care

    According to Leslie Wong, MD, chief medical officer for the Nephrology Care Alliance (NCA) and practicing nephrologist at the Cleveland Clinic, during the pandemic, “…It's really incumbent upon us to stay united as health care providers. Remain positive, not just for each other, but for our patients, and make sure that we also help and celebrate when things go right.” Listen to this podcast, in which Sarah Carpenter interviews Dr. Wong on how COVID-19 has affected health care, in general, and kidney care, in particular. Dr. Wong discusses the impact of COVID-19 on clinician use of telehealth, the need to move care upstream to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the adoption of value-based care models, the roles of patient education and predictive analytics in managing kidney care, and the communities of patients, families, caregivers, and nurses and other health care professionals. He also provides information on how NCA can help nephrologists address some of these challenges. For more information on NCA, including the latest news coverage, physician resources and thought leadership content, please visit https://nephrologycarealliance.com/newsroom/. Podcast Transcript: Sarah Carpenter (00:45): Hello, everyone. Welcome to the DaVita Medical Insights podcast. My name is Sarah Carpenter. I'm a teammate with Nephrology Care Alliance and I'm joined on the phone today with Dr. Leslie Wong, the Chief Medical officer for Nephrology Care Alliance. Hi, Leslie. Thanks for joining. Dr. Leslie Wong (01:00): Yeah, absolutely. Sarah, happy to be here. Sarah Carpenter (01:02): So I have a few questions for you. The first is, what has been your focus during the pandemic? Dr. Leslie Wong (01:08): Yeah, so while I am a chief medical officer for Nephrology Care Alliance, I'm actually, still a practicing Nephrologist at Cleveland clinic, so I kind of have a few different roles there. So it's been a very busy time as a physician leader. And in terms of interacting and orchestrating with teammates at DaVita, but also seeing my own patients and seeing the challenges that they've gone through as well as my colleagues at the hospital. Sarah Carpenter (01:42): Yeah. Thank you for sharing that there has been an emphasis on telehealth throughout COVID-19. How can clinicians better leverage telehealth to engage with patients? Dr. Leslie Wong (01:52): I think it's valuable to kind of step back and just think about how the pandemic kind of affected health care in general. I think especially in March and in April, when we really experienced the surge in the Northeast and really started seeing come to grips with how COVID was hitting the United States. I think that things that we thought could never happen or impossible, all of a sudden reality. And one of, again, the important things I think that everyone remembers and still it really preoccupies us today is how do you limit exposure to the virus? Not only for patients, but for health care workers. So I think the pandemic was really unique, at least in my medical career where, we're used to treating people with disease. Dr. Leslie Wong (02:48): We're not actually in the habit of thinking of how something that we're treating could actually affect us and actually harm us. And I know I've been really struck by all the testimonials, stories and collages of health care professionals, doctors, nurses, EMT, et cetera, they've actually succumb to COVID. Dr. Leslie Wong (03:09): So I think that, that's an important kind of background to acknowledge as we think about telehealth. So with this, really important need to limit exposure and transmission of the virus, the government enacted, these broad waivers across, various aspects of health care. But importantly that allowed clinicians in different categories of health care to be able to deliver and being reimbursed for telehealth services. So, again, not only to prevent transmission from an infection control standpoint, but also the reality is that, as people, even physicians were under quarantine. Or unable to use public transportation, but still with the need to have their medical conditions look after to speak with a health professional, telehealth is a technology that, that enables is really, really critical. Dr. Leslie Wong (04:16): So, being able to actually do that was and still is a tremendous benefit for our patients. Sarah Carpenter (04:23): Yeah. That's great. And what measures did Nephrology Care Alliance or NCA take to help with it? Dr. Leslie Wong (04:30): Yeah. So, One of the things that's important to understand is that prior to the pandemic, in order to participate in telehealth, there were very strict regulations and rightfully so. Privacy making sure that the data transmission was secure so that, people's information wasn't compromised. All those things were in place, but because of the extenuating circumstances with the pandemic, you really saw a kind of a broad relaxation of these guidelines. So it was actually permissible to use things like FaceTime and these kind of non-traditional platforms to deliver telehealth. Which actually would in some instances made it easy, but also, brought up a lot of other concerns and certainly larger health systems like Cleveland Clinic and other hospital systems already had telehealth systems in place, but had never had or utilized in the manner that this pandemic brought. Dr. Leslie Wong (05:35): So all of a sudden you had a lot more demand and then a lot more interests and then a lot more confusion about like, well, what's the right platform to use? What's the safest platform to use the most secure? And what's the most reliable? You can imagine a physician's office, a practice, just thinking about, well, listen, how... First of all, I don't have access to my patients. I'm now just processing all of these new telehealth waivers. I see the benefit of getting to patients, but it doesn't matter what I have. If they're not able to log in to my telehealth platform or they don't have say an iPhone, they can't use FaceTime. What do we do? So what we realized early on with... And where we thought NCA could really make a difference is that the Nephrologists were very much overwhelmed, not just with, processing information about the pandemic. But just all the different changes that accompany that. Dr. Leslie Wong (06:43): And so trying to actually figure out what is a telehealth platform to choose? What works? What are the features? I mean, these are things that there weren't enough hours of the day to do. We saw many Nephrologists that were just basically taking up either the first solution that came to them, or we're kind of inundated with a lot of advertisements. And had a lot of, different options that they didn't really understand it. And really felt like uncomfortable, committing to. So, I think the big thing that NCA did was that we recognized the need and we really pivoted the entire team to do a very broad, extensive search. And again, using a lot of the resources that we had within DaVita, kind of tapping on social strategy and other folks that look at that segment of this technology in the health care field, really try to identify and narrow down the field for our members. Dr. Leslie Wong (07:51): So I think over the course of about two weeks, we were able to meet with review, research, a limited number of telehealth vendors. And we were really struck and impressed by a company called Mend, they really had a... Not only a physician friendly interface, but also very patient friendly one as well. So we were able to negotiate a kind of a special rate and plan for a Nephrology practices so that they could quickly implement and sign up for a telehealth platform. And it start immediately taking care of their patients. And I think the big value for our members is that they could trust that not only they were signing up for something with no kind of, no strings, but really that we done our due diligence and research for them. Because really it was about how do we position them to start taking care of their patients as soon as possible. Sarah Carpenter (09:09): That's great. It sounds like a lot of work went into that. And so I think it's a really a value add. Speaking of patient care, how has COVID-19 brought forth the need for upstream care for patients with CKD? Dr. Leslie Wong (09:23): Well, unfortunately I think it's really highlighted some of the negative aspects of keeping people in isolation and away from the hospital. So, obviously we don't want the patients to be admitted to the hospital. We don't want them moving around visiting family unless it's absolutely necessary. And indeed, in many health care systems of hospitals, there were mandates that any elective surgeries, procedures, those things, those were not actually permitted for safety reasons. And furthermore, a lot of preventative health care interventions, vaccinations, cancer screening, those things were not considered essential. Dr. Leslie Wong (10:15): So patients were actually kind of discouraged. Or those things were not being scheduled. I think what really came to life was that, there wasn't a need for patients with chronic conditions, not only kidney disease, but heart disease, lung disease, diabetes know conditions that before the pandemic really required, close and regular follow up with physicians. And nurse practitioners in order for patients to remain healthy. Those visits also went down. And so what you saw was that it wasn't just the surgeries and procedures. It was the outpatient visits that really, really kind of almost went away. And some of those of course were things that could potentially in the short term be put off. But other things are really necessary care. And, I experienced that patients, even though they knew they needed to come in. They were actually scared because they didn't want to go to the doctor's office because that's where sick people were. Dr. Leslie Wong (11:22):

  4. 08/19/2020

    The Importance of Patient Education

    “I would just really encourage folks to get upstream and get your patients the information early in their disease state, so that they can be more involved in their care and make good decisions for themselves,” says Josh Lowentritt, MD, a New Orleans nephrologist in private practice. Listen to this podcast, in which Martha Wofford, group vice president of DaVita Kidney Care, interviews Dr. Lowentritt on the importance of patient education, and empowering chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients to make active choices in their care. Dr. Lowentritt discusses his professional background, his passion for CKD education, like Kidney Smart, the patient’s perspective, the need for a CKD educator, the significant conversations related to diet, advice for nephrologists in providing education and the impact of COVID-19 on giving patients support. Podcast Transcript: Martha Wofford (00:40): Hello and welcome to DaVita Medical Insights Podcast. My name is Martha Wofford and I am a group vice president at DaVita Kidney Care, and I am excited to be joined today by Dr. Josh Lowentritt, he's a nephrologist from New Orleans. And just thank you, Dr. Lowentritt or joining us to talk about the importance of education for patients with chronic kidney disease. Dr. Lowentritt (01:03): Well, thanks. Martha Wofford (01:06): Yeah, thanks for being here. Dr. Lowentritt (01:07): Yes. Martha Wofford (01:07): First off, can you start by telling our listeners a little bit about your background and maybe why you're so passionate about CKD education? Dr. Lowentritt (01:15): Sure. So first of all, call me Josh, and I'm delighted to be here today to chat. I did all my nephrology training here in New Orleans at Tulane and finished up 2001. And I've been in private practice since then. So I'm doing hospital work, office work, I go to dialysis clinics. I still see my post-transplant patients after they get released back to me. And also do quite a bit of medical director work and work in population health and value-based care, which helps fill out my day. So, that CKD education, it's strange that it's such a novel idea. I was so lucky when I was in training. We actually had a dialysis CKD PD educator embedded in our clinic when I was a fellow. And so I always included CKD education when my patients would progress further along in their kidney disease, or make referrals to CKD education as appropriate, for patients to get the information they need. I've never imagined nephrology without having a CKD educator. And so I've just really enjoyed that association throughout my career. Martha Wofford (02:45): Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. I think not everybody probably had that advantage and that's a great way to shape your thinking about it. Just being core to what you do with patients. Maybe you can tell us a little bit more about what it's like from the patient's perspective, what their greatest needs are for education? And then when you encounter those needs, when and how you provide CKD education? Dr. Lowentritt (03:11): Sure. Kidney disease, it's intimidating. It's scary for patients. We're talking about real serious stuff, and at the same time, a lot of times patients don't know enough about it to even know what to ask. So my use of the CKD educator and the health materials and the Kidney Smart materials, that really helps round out what I need the patients to know so that they can be empowered to take care of themselves. Because as we know, we're dealing with a chronic disease state and a lot of the care is what people do on their own time, not when they're sitting in front of the doctor. So I think it's really critical that we provide education that is in a relaxed setting, not in front of the doctor. They should be able to feel like they can ask any question. And sometimes they're a bit intimidated to ask questions that might be personal, or they might think they're not really smart questions or something like that. And also because, when I'm talking to patients, there's the time limit. I have to keep moving on my schedule and patients may not remember to come back to ask the question if it slips their mind. So the educational piece is really critical in making sure patients understand what's going on with them. We're asking people to change their diet. We're asking people to manage chronic diseases, check their blood pressures, take care of their diabetes. We're asking them to pay attention to their feet. We're asking them to dramatically change their diet sometimes and they need support for that. So it's really a lot about empowering patients. Being sensitive to their needs. And really creating an educational space for them so that they can get the information and make the good choices for themselves. Martha Wofford (05:19): Yeah, that makes total sense. And I bet the dramatic changes to the diet down in New Orleans must be particularly painful for patients. Dr. Lowentritt (05:27): It's terrible. I have to tell people, "If you like it, you can't have it." Who wants to hear that? And, I'm not a dietitian. I have some thoughts about what you shouldn't eat. But I'm not able to quickly come up with substitutes. A trained renal dietitian, or a kidney educator who has experience in this, they are able to come up with good substitutes. Because obviously, we need people to have good nutrition. But again, I'm not trained for that. And I'm very happy to have folks on the team who are. Martha Wofford (06:04): Yeah. And one of the things that I'm really proud of is, as we overhaul the Kidney Smart curriculum, is we did a lot of work on diet and presenting different options for people so they could swap out something healthier for something that they really like in their diet. So that's a really easy part of the educational material to use for sure. Josh, what piece of advice would you have for other nephrologists who may not be utilizing CKD education or Kidney Smart with their patients today? Dr. Lowentritt (06:36): I would just ask nephrologists, "What is your goal for your patient?" If you want the best care for your patient and you feel like, as a physician you can do it all, by all means, keep doing it all. But, that's not the world that I live in. The world I live in is that kidney disease is a team sport. We need a whole team of people to take care of folks and give them the information they need so that they can make good choices. One of the most wonderful things about kidney care that I've enjoyed as a nephrologist is, I've always been doing care in groups. I'm meeting with my facility administrator and my nurses, my dietitians, social workers. But to be able to bring that upstream, bring that out of the dialysis clinic, why wait till someone has kidney failure to give them that level of care? Why would we not bring that upstream and give our patients the information and empower them to take care of themselves? Why would we wait for that? Let's get upstream. Let's not wait until they go to the dialysis unit so they can get a dietitian or they get dietary advice. Let's take care of that in a relaxed setting. What if we did that and our patients didn't need dialysis for another year or two, or maybe never, because they got the education they needed? Or what if they were able to pick the modality that's most important to them? Or even better, that we send them to transplant. When we get them set up at the transplant center and perhaps have a preemptive transplant if needed. That's what I would tell the nephrology community is if we really want to give the best we can for our patients, we need to include the team earlier and get much farther upstream than the dialysis unit. Martha Wofford (08:30): I love that Josh. I think you and I share, I know, a passion around trying to empower patients and really changing their trajectory, but what if really empowering them and getting them that information so that they don't progress is something that I know we're both spending a lot of energy, trying to make the reality for more and more nephrologists and more and more patients. Maybe if we just talked for a minute about what it's been like with COVID and how it's been to try to support patients and educate them and this period. Dr. Lowentritt (09:09): Sure. And of course, you know how COVID hit New Orleans pretty quickly, and it was really 10 weeks of an ordeal. Currently, we're the one part of the Louisiana where COVID is not flaring so badly after the initial, really it was a terrible 10 weeks. And fortunately, the whole population, especially the vulnerable patients really get it. They really need to say to themselves, they really need to be very careful when they leave their homes. So, I've asked my patients about that. In fact, in the last two days, I've talked to four patients about peritoneal dialysis, people that are new-starts. One patient who's already on hemodialysis. And one of the things I'm telling them now is, you don't have to come into a big group setting. You don't have to come in to the dialysis day clinic. You can do your dialysis at home and maybe reduce your risk of exposure from not having to get on transportation vans and not having to take buses and not relying on neighbors to bring you places. So I think, in the world, in our post-COVID world, we should be mindful of that. That, one of the ways we can help protect our patients is simply to give them their kidney care at home. So if that's education, the Kidney Smart education program currently is doing all telehealth, which is actually giving my patients much more attention than the previous era, when they would come in for meetings and meet in groups. They're actually getting a lot of one-on-one time with the Kidney Smart educator. And for my patients who require dialysis, why wouldn't we want to treat them at home where they can control the environment and get their care in the most comfortable setting possible? So I think post-COVID, it becomes even clearer.

  5. 07/30/2020

    Self-Care for Clinicians

    “If self-care was important before the pandemic, it has become almost essential in everybody's life today,” says Usha Peri, MD, who is a DaVita medical council member and a SKY breath meditation instructor for the Art of Living Foundation. Listen to this podcast, in which Ryan Weir interviews Dr. Peri on self-care, with a focus on self-care for clinicians and during the pandemic. Dr. Peri discusses what burnout is and how to counteract it, what self-care means to her, how she became interested in the SKY breath meditation technique and why she became an instructor, and what tools she uses to help with her own self-care. During the podcast, she also demonstrates a couple breathing exercises that one can do in less than 5 minutes during a break in the day to unwind and reset before going back to work. Podcast Transcript: Ryan (00:40): Hello and welcome to the DaVita Medical Insights podcast. I'm your host Ryan. We're joined on the phone today by Dr. Usha Peri. Dr. Peri is on the medical council of DaVita and is a SKY breath meditation instructor for the Art of Living Foundation. Dr. Peri, how are you doing today? Dr. Usha Peri (00:57): Great. Thanks, Ryan. Ryan (00:59): All right. Dr. Peri, we're talking about self-care today and as we all know, there's a pandemic going on. So can you talk about the timing of this topic and why self-care for clinicians is so relevant right now? Dr. Usha Peri (01:11): Absolutely. Even before the pandemic physicians' burnout rates and health care professionals' burnout rates have been on the rise. Even though this word was coined back in the '70s, it has started becoming much more relevant recently with the rise of regulatory burden, as well as electronic health documentation burden that's being placed on the physician. Now, with the pandemic hitting, all of this has just gone exponentially high. Things are changing quite rapidly and they're asked to keep up with all the changes. As you know, regulations are changing, by the day, sometimes, and our telehealth visits, all of us had to transition to telehealth almost overnight. And the documentation rules around that keep changing as well. At the same time, our patients are also in this uncertain, anxious time. And so their demands on the health care professionals are higher and our ability to deal with the death and the grieving process, all of this is taking a huge toll on the health care professionals. If self-care was important before the pandemic, it has become almost essential in everybody's life today. Ryan (02:42): Yeah. And especially going months into this pandemic too. Dr. Usha Peri (02:47): Yes. And not knowing when it's going to end either, Ryan. Ryan (02:50): Right. Right. So self-care can mean a lot of different things to different people. What does self-care mean to you? Dr. Usha Peri (02:58): Right. That's a good question. Well, you're right. Anybody, who's human and living actually health care professional or not, is doing self-care in some form and fashion whether they call it that or not, right? All of us that are humans have to eat good food, hopefully, good, nutritious food, drink plenty of water, get a good night's sleep, and if things go well and we have a little extra time on hand, exercise perhaps, or spend some time with nature, walking, listening to music, et cetera. All of that would fall under self-care to me. I mean, that all sounds simple, right? And why do we even need to talk about it? Why podcast? Well, the challenge there is that the increasing demands that we talked about, we as human beings start cutting corners and start cutting into our eating time. What used to be an hour long lunchtime at one point in my own work day has now pretty much disappeared and exists in my car while I'm driving. Dr. Usha Peri (04:09): What used to be exercise time can go away if you have to catch up with your notes or do other important things for the family. What used to be sleep time can easily disappear, once again, when you're juggling multiple different tasks. And more importantly, if there's stress of negative outcomes, then it takes away your sleep. Even if you're in bed, you're running around not getting good quality sleep. So all of this starts taking a toll on your physical energy levels as well as mental energy levels. And then you slowly start feeling burnt out; emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and compassion fatigue, which is the three components of burnout. So now when we're in this stage, when we moved away from doing our usual things in a happy natural way, on to this vicious downward cycle of burnout, we have to do something extra to get ourselves back up at least to the baseline. Dr. Usha Peri (05:19): And that extra obviously is something that can recharge and rejuvenate us. And again, in our current society, it would be great if I can get this in the form of a pill. And if not in the form of a pill, something quick, that is not very time consuming, right? So while I was going through this journey in my own life, I stumbled upon this great breathing and meditation technique called the SKY breath medication. This is almost 15 years ago. And initially I used to do it as a hobby that made me feel great. And lately it has become a very essential part of my day. I spend about 20, 25 minutes of my time doing this and it recharges and rejuvenates me very naturally and very automatically. Ryan (06:10): So you mentioned that self-care isn't something new. It's gotten a lot of news lately but it's been around for a bit and you've been dealing with this subject for a while. So how did you originally get interested in this subject? Dr. Usha Peri (06:22): Sure. So, like I mentioned, these things happen very naturally but then I am a mother of two kids who are now young adults, 24 and 20. I have held many leadership roles in my company, including the immediate past presidency. And I've seen this company grow from a five employee to a 70 employee company. I'm a medical director on the medical council, married for 28 years. So I've obviously worn many hats. And in the process, just like I mentioned earlier, I've realized that I was cutting into things that are necessary to maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind. So during this time I stumbled upon this breathing technique. And now I come from a tradition of yoga. Growing up and going through medical school in India, I've taken great interest in doing some yoga postures and breath work. And I came here and all of that got lost in the business of daily life. Dr. Usha Peri (07:25): But then I rediscovered it about 15 years ago. Initially I was doing it for fun but later on, as life caught out and I was juggling all these different things, I realized that this is a great source of energy for me. It's a great source of winding down without having to have a drink of alcohol, which I've never been a big drinker at all but even social alcohol or just to wind down, which I used to do many years ago, at the doctors and parties, I've completely given up. And I realized that yoga, breath work and meditation are just much more powerful in helping relieve, let go of the daily stresses and to recharge and rejuvenate me. And not only am I now combating burnout but I've actually got an extra perk by practicing this which is peak performance. I realized that my mind can dive into the creative, intuitive sites of myself and come up with very beautiful problem solving. Dr. Usha Peri (08:29): For any problem solving we do need the creative and intuitive sites of our minds and brains active. And I noticed that doing this practice on a regular basis helps me do just that. So I'm actually a very sought after person in whatever field I choose to enter, right? Whether it's as a parent, spouse, at work, wherever I am, I'm considered a cheerful person who brings value. My patients love me because I bring that extra human element to the equation. And I have people who drive many miles across town to come visit with me as well, yeah? And then I realized that this is too beautiful of a tool to keep to myself. That I would love to share it with the world. So that's how I became an instructor five years ago. And now I teach this to youth as well as adults and health care professionals. Ryan (09:29): Yeah. Can you talk more about the tools that you use to help with your own self-care? Dr. Usha Peri (09:33): Sure, Ryan. So when I started out I took this workshop, a 10 hour workshop, called the happiness program or living well for health care professionals, which teacher the 20, 25 minutes take home breathing technique called the SKY breath or Sudarshan Kriya. The term that comes from yoga. And what it is it's a very deep involved breath work that allows us to clear up the day to day stresses. And allows us to get into a very meditative mode of mindset that allows me to just then slip into meditation. And meditation to me is effortless. It's not concentration, it's not focused. It's actually the ability to disconnect from our day to day activities. Dr. Usha Peri (10:24): We use our senses from the time they're up to we go to sleep, especially in this information overload, connected gadgets heavy world today. So that 30 minutes allows me to disconnect from all of that while I'm still awake, not when I'm sleeping and gives me a tool that's physiologically actually allowed for relaxation and disconnection and deep meditation, which is automatically recharging or rejuvenating. So yes, my tools are I do about five minutes of yoga stretches. The postures that are very well known. 20 minutes of the breath work called the SKY breath and followed by a 20 minute meditation. So total about 45 minutes to 50 minutes. That's all. That's how my day starts. And then the rest of the day, I feel like I can face anything that comes my way. Ryan (11:23): So these breathing techniques that you do is this something, I mean, while we're on the podcast and while people are listening, i

  6. 06/17/2020

    Patient-Centered Care

    With the increased use of technology, such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall shift to electronic health records and predictive analytics in health care in recent years, caring for patients from an individual, human perspective, rather than from a numbers or data perspective, is becoming more important. How can patient-centered care have an impact on patients who have chronic conditions like kidney failure? Dr. Francesca Tentori, vice president of DaVita’s Outcomes Research and Patient Empowerment team, discusses this with Ben Brown, senior manager of DaVita Clinical Enterprise team in Denver, CO, in this podcast. While this podcast was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States, listen now to learn more about how integrated and coordinated care is delivered in DaVita centers. Podcast Transcript: Ben Brown (00:28): Hello and welcome to DaVita's Medical Insights podcast. My name is Ben Brown. I am a senior manager in DaVita's clinical enterprise team based in Denver, Colorado, and I'm excited to be joined on the phone today by Dr. Francesca Tentori, vice president of DaVita's outcomes research and patient empowerment team. Hi there, Francesca. Dr. Tentori (00:49): Hi, Ben. It's good to be with you. Ben Brown (00:51): Well, I'm excited to have you with us today to talk about patient-centered care. Can you talk a little bit about how you define patient-centered care and what that means to you and how do you see it come to life in our dialysis centers? Dr. Tentori (01:04): Yes, definitely. So to start with, let me give you the definition that the Institute of Medicine has given us on what patient-centered care means. Obviously it's a term that we hear more and more. The official definition is providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide our clinical decision. Dr. Tentori (01:35): And that's the part that is really exciting to me. So to me, patient-centered care means we provide care that aligns with each of our patient's needs, whether they're clinical or whether they are emotional. Obviously we're not always able to address all of their issues, but just awareness around what's important to each individual patient I think is a huge step. Obviously a challenging one, but I am very proud of the progress that is being made in this area, in medicine in general, and in dialysis in particular. Ben Brown (02:12): Thanks. I think that's great, and how do you see patient-centered care support our patients in a differential way? Dr. Tentori (02:19): So I think this is really, really important in a condition like kidney failure, and specifically patients on dialysis who are on a life sustaining treatment that they typically undergo three times a week if they're dialyzing in a clinic or every day if they're at home. Dr. Tentori (02:41): So their disease and their treatment is very much part of everyday life, and if we are honest, traditionally dialysis care has focused on improving clinical outcomes, achieving quality targets, which are absolutely very important, and results in better clinical outcomes. But the patient perspective was not really reflected or was not really always taken into account. Dr. Tentori (03:15): So in my mind having a structured way to account for the patient's wishes, their desires, to be more mindful that those need to be incorporated in the delivery of care makes a huge impact on the everyday life of our patients, just the fact that they feel valued and respected and listened to. There is a lot of literature and evidence supporting that it has a huge impact on their quality of life as well as potentially in clinical outcomes. Ben Brown (03:49): Yeah. And I think you make a really important point about DaVita's patient population and what it actually looks like to come to life in one of our centers where the schedules and operations can be very regimented and occasionally appear a bit overwhelming with so many patients being managed at one time. Ben Brown (04:11): So how do DaVita's care teams effectively deliver patient-centered care? And maybe you could describe what that process actually looks like and what it has meant for them in terms of outcomes. Dr. Tentori (04:24): Yes, absolutely. So all of us who have been in the clinic know that it's a hectic place. Everybody is running around always trying to do the right thing for patients, but sometimes the communication and integration of the different activities is not ideal. Dr. Tentori (04:44): One of the basic principles of patient-centered care is the coordination and integration of care. And that is to, across health care providers so the dialysis center communicating with other health care providers as well as within the clinic. We obviously have being able to really work and focus on the communication and integration within our clinic. And we want to make sure that we optimize a communication across the people who interact with patients. Dr. Tentori (05:22): So, starting with patient care technicians who have the most interaction, nurses, social workers, dieticians, physicians, we want to make sure that they're all aligned and aware what's going on with a given patient in a given time in order to be able to better respond to those needs, whether with changes in the clinical care that's needed or with other types of support. Dr. Tentori (05:52): The way we have implemented this at the DaVita clinic is starting to having daily meetings of the people who on the floor interact directly with the patients. So you can think typically of patient care technicians, nurses, if it's the week where the social worker are also interacting with that specific patient. Dr. Tentori (06:19): And that's the place where they communicate whatever is new with the system individual. That is no need obviously to cover every single person who's been treated on the floor that day. But the patients who might present with something new or with a new need. Dr. Tentori (06:36): And then the next step is to bring those information or the things that cannot be addressed immediately that day to a core team meeting. And that is a meeting for the leads of the care team, including physicians, nurses, etc. And again, the idea is that problems get escalated so that decisions can be made that address the individual needs of the patient who have come, we have become aware of as we interact with them on the floor. Dr. Tentori (07:15): And obviously one thing that I would like to stress is the importance, not only of communicating what the certain patients specific needs are today, but where we see the real importance is for the clinical team to together make decisions and come away from these meetings with a common understanding of what the care plan or any activity relating to that specific patient is going to be moving forward. Ben Brown (07:46): I think that's so important, Dr. Tentori, that when the whole team comes together to discuss those, the most important issues that a patient is facing and have the right plan in place that brings the patient's needs and wishes into mind is when we really see success and the right outcomes that we're striving for at DaVita. Dr. Tentori (08:09): Absolutely. Ben Brown (08:10): Thanks, Dr. Tentori. I think that insight is incredibly helpful for our listeners. What type of results have you seen tangibly come from this patient-centered care approach that you just mentioned? Dr. Tentori (08:22): Yeah, actually we have been able to measure this. We conducted this initiative in 400 DaVita clinics and we were able to really see an impact on measurable outcomes. If you think of hospitalization, for example, as one of the things that are most important, definitely to patients. I have never met a patient who wants to spend time in the hospital as well as from a dialysis organization perspective, obviously the logistics of a patient not showing up for dialysis and then having to make up for treatment or the treatment that's received at the hospital, not being ideal. Dr. Tentori (09:01): That's definitely something that we have put a lot of energy into and when we looked at hospitalization, at the center that participated in this initiative, there was significant and meaningful reduction among patients treated with three times a week in center hemodialysis, as well as in PD patients. Dr. Tentori (09:24): So we were able to see a full impact on daily tangible clinical outcome that's important to patients. To me even more importantly is that this type of initiative, so implementation of patient-centered care in a structured manner was really well received. Patients found that they were being listened to. Dr. Tentori (09:49): One concern obviously was that clinical staff would feel overwhelmed and that it was too time consuming and we have not received that pushback at all. And physicians as well thought that they were receiving better information and more coordinated information. So I think that overall it was really a win-win both for patients and the clinical staff. Ben Brown (10:13): That's awesome to hear and I know it's great not just for our clinics, but to share what impact it's really had on our patients. Dr. Tentori (10:21): Absolutely. Ben Brown (10:21): And for our patients, one of the most important and most difficult decisions they have to make is where they will receive their dialysis treatment. That may be in a dialysis center or within their own home. However, when as you mentioned, a patient goes to the hospital, which no one wants, their risk of being able to maintain treatment on their preferred modality increases significantly, especially for our patients who treat at home. Can you talk about how patient-centered care affects those patients treating at home and their quality of life? Dr. Tentori (10:53)

  7. 06/17/2020

    Patient-Centered Care

    With the increased use of technology, such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall shift to electronic health records and predictive analytics in health care in recent years, caring for patients from an individual, human perspective, rather than from a numbers or data perspective, is becoming more important. How can patient-centered care have an impact on patients who have chronic conditions like kidney failure? Dr. Francesca Tentori, vice president of DaVita’s Outcomes Research and Patient Empowerment team, discusses this with Ben Brown, senior manager of DaVita Clinical Enterprise team in Denver, CO, in this podcast. While this podcast was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States, listen now to learn more about how integrated and coordinated care is delivered in DaVita centers. Podcast Transcript: Ben Brown (00:28): Hello and welcome to DaVita's Medical Insights podcast. My name is Ben Brown. I am a senior manager in DaVita's clinical enterprise team based in Denver, Colorado, and I'm excited to be joined on the phone today by Dr. Francesca Tentori, vice president of DaVita's outcomes research and patient empowerment team. Hi there, Francesca. Dr. Tentori (00:49): Hi, Ben. It's good to be with you. Ben Brown (00:51): Well, I'm excited to have you with us today to talk about patient-centered care. Can you talk a little bit about how you define patient-centered care and what that means to you and how do you see it come to life in our dialysis centers? Dr. Tentori (01:04): Yes, definitely. So to start with, let me give you the definition that the Institute of Medicine has given us on what patient-centered care means. Obviously it's a term that we hear more and more. The official definition is providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide our clinical decision. Dr. Tentori (01:35): And that's the part that is really exciting to me. So to me, patient-centered care means we provide care that aligns with each of our patient's needs, whether they're clinical or whether they are emotional. Obviously we're not always able to address all of their issues, but just awareness around what's important to each individual patient I think is a huge step. Obviously a challenging one, but I am very proud of the progress that is being made in this area, in medicine in general, and in dialysis in particular. Ben Brown (02:12): Thanks. I think that's great, and how do you see patient-centered care support our patients in a differential way? Dr. Tentori (02:19): So I think this is really, really important in a condition like kidney failure, and specifically patients on dialysis who are on a life sustaining treatment that they typically undergo three times a week if they're dialyzing in a clinic or every day if they're at home. Dr. Tentori (02:41): So their disease and their treatment is very much part of everyday life, and if we are honest, traditionally dialysis care has focused on improving clinical outcomes, achieving quality targets, which are absolutely very important, and results in better clinical outcomes. But the patient perspective was not really reflected or was not really always taken into account. Dr. Tentori (03:15): So in my mind having a structured way to account for the patient's wishes, their desires, to be more mindful that those need to be incorporated in the delivery of care makes a huge impact on the everyday life of our patients, just the fact that they feel valued and respected and listened to. There is a lot of literature and evidence supporting that it has a huge impact on their quality of life as well as potentially in clinical outcomes. Ben Brown (03:49): Yeah. And I think you make a really important point about DaVita's patient population and what it actually looks like to come to life in one of our centers where the schedules and operations can be very regimented and occasionally appear a bit overwhelming with so many patients being managed at one time. Ben Brown (04:11): So how do DaVita's care teams effectively deliver patient-centered care? And maybe you could describe what that process actually looks like and what it has meant for them in terms of outcomes. Dr. Tentori (04:24): Yes, absolutely. So all of us who have been in the clinic know that it's a hectic place. Everybody is running around always trying to do the right thing for patients, but sometimes the communication and integration of the different activities is not ideal. Dr. Tentori (04:44): One of the basic principles of patient-centered care is the coordination and integration of care. And that is to, across health care providers so the dialysis center communicating with other health care providers as well as within the clinic. We obviously have being able to really work and focus on the communication and integration within our clinic. And we want to make sure that we optimize a communication across the people who interact with patients. Dr. Tentori (05:22): So, starting with patient care technicians who have the most interaction, nurses, social workers, dieticians, physicians, we want to make sure that they're all aligned and aware what's going on with a given patient in a given time in order to be able to better respond to those needs, whether with changes in the clinical care that's needed or with other types of support. Dr. Tentori (05:52): The way we have implemented this at the DaVita clinic is starting to having daily meetings of the people who on the floor interact directly with the patients. So you can think typically of patient care technicians, nurses, if it's the week where the social worker are also interacting with that specific patient. Dr. Tentori (06:19): And that's the place where they communicate whatever is new with the system individual. That is no need obviously to cover every single person who's been treated on the floor that day. But the patients who might present with something new or with a new need. Dr. Tentori (06:36): And then the next step is to bring those information or the things that cannot be addressed immediately that day to a core team meeting. And that is a meeting for the leads of the care team, including physicians, nurses, etc. And again, the idea is that problems get escalated so that decisions can be made that address the individual needs of the patient who have come, we have become aware of as we interact with them on the floor. Dr. Tentori (07:15): And obviously one thing that I would like to stress is the importance, not only of communicating what the certain patients specific needs are today, but where we see the real importance is for the clinical team to together make decisions and come away from these meetings with a common understanding of what the care plan or any activity relating to that specific patient is going to be moving forward. Ben Brown (07:46): I think that's so important, Dr. Tentori, that when the whole team comes together to discuss those, the most important issues that a patient is facing and have the right plan in place that brings the patient's needs and wishes into mind is when we really see success and the right outcomes that we're striving for at DaVita. Dr. Tentori (08:09): Absolutely. Ben Brown (08:10): Thanks, Dr. Tentori. I think that insight is incredibly helpful for our listeners. What type of results have you seen tangibly come from this patient-centered care approach that you just mentioned? Dr. Tentori (08:22): Yeah, actually we have been able to measure this. We conducted this initiative in 400 DaVita clinics and we were able to really see an impact on measurable outcomes. If you think of hospitalization, for example, as one of the things that are most important, definitely to patients. I have never met a patient who wants to spend time in the hospital as well as from a dialysis organization perspective, obviously the logistics of a patient not showing up for dialysis and then having to make up for treatment or the treatment that's received at the hospital, not being ideal. Dr. Tentori (09:01): That's definitely something that we have put a lot of energy into and when we looked at hospitalization, at the center that participated in this initiative, there was significant and meaningful reduction among patients treated with three times a week in center hemodialysis, as well as in PD patients. Dr. Tentori (09:24): So we were able to see a full impact on daily tangible clinical outcome that's important to patients. To me even more importantly is that this type of initiative, so implementation of patient-centered care in a structured manner was really well received. Patients found that they were being listened to. Dr. Tentori (09:49): One concern obviously was that clinical staff would feel overwhelmed and that it was too time consuming and we have not received that pushback at all. And physicians as well thought that they were receiving better information and more coordinated information. So I think that overall it was really a win-win both for patients and the clinical staff. Ben Brown (10:13): That's awesome to hear and I know it's great not just for our clinics, but to share what impact it's really had on our patients. Dr. Tentori (10:21): Absolutely. Ben Brown (10:21): And for our patients, one of the most important and most difficult decisions they have to make is where they will receive their dialysis treatment. That may be in a dialysis center or within their own home. However, when as you mentioned, a patient goes to the hospital, which no one wants, their risk of being able to maintain treatment on their preferred modality increases significantly, especially for our patients who treat at home. Can you talk about how patient-centered care affects those patients treating at home and their quality of life? Dr. Tentori (10:53

  8. 03/11/2020

    Kidney Care Transformation: A Global Perspective

    Innovations in nephrology are taking place as the importance of kidney health is emphasized globally. Listen to this podcast, to hear how kidney care is transforming around the world, with insights from clinicians who share a passion for innovation: Jeffrey Giullian, MD, chief medical officer for DaVita Kidney Care; Janet Cowperthwaite, director of clinical operations for DaVita International; Sam Kant, MD, nephrology fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Szymon Brzosko, MD, chief medical officer for DaVita Poland; Mandy Hale, vice president of nursing for DaVita; Francesca Tentori, MD, vice president of outcomes research and patient empowerment for DaVita, Wisam Al Badr, MD, chief medical officer for DaVita Saudi Arabia; and David Roer, MD, vice president of medical affairs for DaVita Integrated Kidney Care. Listen and read more DaVita Medical Insights here. Podcast Transcript: Ryan Weir: 00:32 Hello, everyone. This is Ryan Weir with the DaVita Medical Insights Podcast. The importance of kidney health is emphasized globally. I've recently caught up both in person and over the phone with nephrology clinicians from around the world to gather an international perspective on kidney care transformation, innovations they're looking forward to seeing within the next decade and more. Ryan Weir: 00:52 In this podcast, we'll hear from clinicians in Poland, Saudi Arabia, England and the United States. We asked Dr. Jeff Giullian, chief medical officer for DaVita Kidney Care; Janet Cowperthwaite, director of clinical operations for DaVita International; and Dr. Sam Kant, nephrology fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital, what they believe is the next big thing that will improve kidney care in their country. Let's hear what they had to say. Dr. Jeff Giullian: 01:23 We are living through a time of great innovation expansion within kidney care today. I see really a few key innovations coming down the pike that will, I believe, likely change the way that we deliver care in the U.S. and really perhaps across the entire globe. So the first is, within chronic kidney disease, we are seeing innovation in artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, which will help caregivers segment patients based on their risk for renal progression. Dr. Jeff Giullian: 01:52 Second big area is, for patients with end-stage kidney disease, we're seeing innovation that enhances their ability to choose a dialysis modality that best meets their personal needs. This includes items such as home-remote monitoring to all the way to new devices for home dialysis. Then the third thing is that there are mechanisms now to increase the number of kidney transplants. This category really includes everything from paired and chain donations, but also new types of organs and implantable devices that are really a little bit more distant into the future, but they are exciting nonetheless. Ryan Weir: 02:28 Janet Cowperthwaite Janet Cowperthwaite: 02:30 From my perspective, I think it's about patients' engagements and activation. Engagements in their treatment and choices, but also how we run and provide the services, and in other aspects involving them in things like in safety and quality forums within the clinic. Ryan Weir: 02:49 Dr. Kant Dr. Sam Kant: 02:51 I think one of the biggest things is that we so far only relied on one or two blood tests when it comes to diagnosing kidney disease and managing things. I think the emergence of biomarkers, especially, whether they're serum or a urine, any biomarkers, it will probably help us elucidate what kind of acute kidney injury someone has or what kind of disease you know is afflicting the kidneys. I think that would be something that you would see increasing utilization all throughout. Definitely I think has a lot of scope going forward. Ryan Weir: 03:26 Dr. Szymon Brzosko, chief medical officer for DaVita Poland and Mandy Hale, vice president of nursing for DaVita based in the U.S., told us about the one thing that could help improve health care in their respective countries and worldwide. Dr. Szymon Brzosko: 03:41 In Poland, I really would like to see more home renal replacement therapy options being available for patients. Especially I'm thinking about more peritoneal dialysis, it is a valuable one. We have many kinds of treatment options available in my country, but in parallel existing regulations and organizational issues with qualifying patients for being active on the waiting list a problem for potential donor or even social acceptance of these methods is still too low and this is the area where I would like to see you know, improvements and by that probably allowing patients to live better with the disease. Ryan Weir: 04:38 Mandy Hale Mandy Hale: 04:40 I'm going to answer the question as one thing that can improve health care in my community, my country, my world with two answers and that is awareness and preventative care. I think it is so important that, we, as nephrology clinicians, continue to put emphasis on the importance of creating awareness for individuals when it comes to chronic kidney disease, which is so many times and referred to as a silent disease. We must help people understand the risk factors and what type of tests and intervention can help when we refer to CKD and we must provide access to that type of care. I see a whole lot of focus on thinking creatively through helping patients access care or helping individuals understand the risk factor. For me that is just the largest hope I have that we can help read through the presence of chronic kidney disease. Ryan Weir: 05:41 We wanted to hear about the one innovation in kidney care these clinicians believe would create a better future for people with kidney disease. So we asked Dr. Francesca Tentori, vice president of outcomes research and patient empowerment for DaVita, Dr. Wisam Al Badr, chief medical officer for DaVita Saudi Arabia, Dr. Giullian and Dr. Kant for their perspectives. Dr. Francesca Tentori: 06:03 I'll be honest that this is the first time in my life as a nephrologist that I have seen something I'm super excited about. At the last ASN, for example, there were several new dialysis machines and just in general, technology platforms that I thought were really “cool and exciting” and I really envision them to come to fruition sometime in the near future and I think those are good to make a huge difference for our patients. Ryan Weir: 06:39 Dr. Al Badr Dr. Wisam Al Badr: 06:41 One of the most important innovations that we are looking at in the nephrology community today that would bring in the best results for our kidney population is a better screening measure for early detection of kidney failure. Currently, we rely on a blood test including the creatinine and the estimated GFR, but it presents the disease quite late. Finding this measure that presents an early detection of kidney disease would be the best innovation available. Ryan Weir: 07:25 Dr. Giullian Dr. Jeff Giullian: 07:27 I don't believe that there's one single innovation that's the silver bullet at least until we have the ability to provide true regenerative medicine. Rather, I think it's a combination of innovations that will help us slow the progression of kidney disease and then provide many more options for replacing renal function in the event that we can't halt progression of CKD. Ryan Weir: 07:48 Dr. Kant Dr. Sam Kant: 07:50 That's a very interesting question. I think one of the biggest things as a doctor looking after patients who have already undergone transplants, I always feel immunosuppression is necessary, but there's also associated with a lot of side effects and is expensive. There's a big push from centers all over the world to come up with ways by which we can avoid immune suppression all together. They're talking about various STEM cell infusions or modified immune cells infusions, to be more exact. That might help and look very promising in evading immunosuppression all together once patients are transplanted. I think that's of the things I'm really looking forward to. I really hope it works out and it’s certainly I've been going on and on about it, I think it would be a complete game changer. Ryan Weir: 08:42 Dr. David Roer, vice president of medical affairs for DaVita Integrated Kidney Care, Dr. Giullian and Dr. Brzosko provided their thoughts on what the kidney care community is doing well and could impact the rest of health care. Dr. David Roer: 08:55 I think the one thing that the renal care community can do and help as an example for the broader health care community is using robust analytics to organize and develop highly effective and efficient care delivery systems through integrated kidney care team. The kidney care community has been at the forefront of collecting important clinical demographic and financial metrics. Using this information to efficiently and effectively care for patients with chronic kidney disease will be essential in driving towards the goal of reducing chronic kidney disease and slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease. Ryan Weir: 09:43 Dr. Giullian Dr. Jeff Giullian: 09:45 The kidney community in the United States is working to break down silos and reduce fragmentation and care. Now, we're still very far away from achieving that goal. However, as we do improve care coordination and data sharing, I believe this will have a major positive impact on the care that we provide to our patients and will serve as a model for the rest of health care. Really, along these same lines, nephrologists and kidney care providers like DaVita are leading the country in integrative care and value based reimbursement from the ESCOs which were the ESRD or ESKD seamless care organizations to CSNPs, chronic special needs plans to other integrated care arrangements. Kidney care is ahead of the rest of health care in the movement away from volume-based payments and towards value-based p

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About

DaVita Medical Insights is the place for conversation among physicians regarding kidney care, dialysis treatment and delivering excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. This podcast is brought to you by DaVita Inc.

Information

  • Creator
    DaVita Inc.
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2020
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 DaVita Medical Insights
  • Show Website
    DaVita Medical Insights