“…Due to the complex nature of the renal patients' needs and issues, interdisciplinary collaboration of care for renal patients by the team has been found to be necessary for optimal delivery of services. An interdisciplinary approach to CKD patient care (including a master's-level social worker) has been shown to be effective in improving patient outcomes, and is the recommended method of providing CKD patient care (Corsini & Hoffman, 1996, Dunn & Janata, 1987Gitlin, Lyons, & Kolodner, 1994;Goldstein, Yassa, Dacouris, & McFarlane, 2004;Houle, Cyphert, & Boggs, 1987;Warady, Alexander, Watkins, Kohaut, & Harmon, 1999). The severe psychosocial issues facing ESRD patients necessitate master's-level social work interventions, and research has shown that these interventions are vital to ameliorate the psychosocial barriers to the ESRD treatment regimen.…”