Community pharmacist targeted screening for chronic kidney disease

Nephrology practice and research network opinion paper: Pharmacists' perspectives on the Advancing American Kidney Health initiative

“…Community pharmacists are well positioned to screen patients for CKD and identify unrecognized disease 50 . The National Kidney Foundation has a new program titled, “Are you the 33%?” 51 (http://MinuteForYourKidneys.org) aimed at identifying individuals who are at risk of CKD which can be utilized in the community pharmacy setting.…”

Community pharmacist identification of chronic kidney disease using point-of-care technology: A pilot study

“…Indeed, targeted screening, in conjunction with the implementation of the CKD Clinical Pathway, 5 is one initiative that has already been evaluated in Alberta, Canada. 6 In that study, Al Hamarneh et al 6 used the pharmacists' authority to view, order and interpret laboratory tests 7 to screen 720 high-risk patients for CKD as per the CKD Clinical Pathway. 5 They found that 40% of those screened had CKD, and of those, 40% had previously unrecognized CKD (i.e., had no evidence of a previous CKD diagnosis).…”

“…5 They found that 40% of those screened had CKD, and of those, 40% had previously unrecognized CKD (i.e., had no evidence of a previous CKD diagnosis). 6 Given that Alberta is the only province in Canada to grant pharmacists the authority to access and order laboratory tests, 8 point-of-care testing (PoCT) may present an alternative and practical way to expand CKD screening throughout the rest of Canada. However, the feasibility of offering such a service is currently unknown and needs to be assessed.…”

Opinion on Primary and Secondary Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease

“…Further reports indicate African Americans are at a ratio of 3:1 increased risk for renal failure in comparison to Caucasian Americans, and Hispanics are 35% more at risk to develop kidney failure in comparison to non-Hispanics [3]. Devastating statistics as of 2013, according to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) [4] (1,336). Based on the population of other ethnicities represented, it is clear that because of the decreased number within their population, the minority ethnicities are at greater risk and often receive a disproportional opportunity to benefit from a functioning kidney transplant as noted: Caucasians 137,862 (51.2%), African Americans 38,268 (23.3%), Hispanic or Latino 27,931 (33.4%), Native American 1,750 (32.2%), Asian Americans 11,139 (43.3%), and other Americans 4,243 (317.5%).…”

“…CKD is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States and have been defined as damage to the kidneys or a decline in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m² for the duration of three or more months [1]. CKD can occur from a variety of underlying etiologies that diminish the availability of functional nephrons, and results in a cascade of irreparable sclerosis of residual nephrons, which facilitates the advancement of the disease process [2].…”