Chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a prevalent and severe condition that progresses silently in most patients.¹ As such, many patients are not diagnosed until the late stages of CKD, resulting in a greater risk of poor outcomes, such as end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or transplant.¹ Even more alarming is that the risk of death due to cardiovascular causes increases significantly as CKD progresses.²

The most common conditions that prematurely place patients at risk of CKD are diabetes (leading cause of kidney disease), hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD is also the most common cause of death in patients on dialysis).^1–3 In fact, patients with CKD are more likely to die from heart disease before they reach end-stage renal disease.^1,4
To reduce the rate of disease progression and effectively manage CV risk, patients need to be identified and interventions initiated as early as possible.

Chronic disease management and monitoring in pharmacy have become routine for patients with hypertension and diabetes in many countries. In line with this trend, the pharmacy team is ideally placed to support CKD screening through at-risk patient identification, counselling and referral, having a significant impact on CKD patients’ future outcomes and quality of life.

1. World Kidney Day. Chronic kidney disease. Available at: https://www.worldkidneyday.org/facts/chronic-kidney-disease (Accessed July 2022).

2. Wright J, Hutchison A. Vasc Health Risk Manag 2009; 5:713–722.

3. Tong J, et al . Kidney Blood Press Res 2016; 41:479–487.

4. National Kidney Foundation. National Kidney Foundation. CKD patients more likely to die from heart disease than to develop kidney failure. 2008. Available at: https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/nr/77 (Accessed May 2022).

Events/Webinars

The role of pharmacists in chronic kidney disease

June 13, 2023

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a prevalent and severe condition that progresses silently in most patients. As such, many patients are not diagnosed until the late stages of CKD, resulting in a greater risk of poor outcomes, such as end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or transplant. Community pharmacists and their teams are ideally placed to raise CKD awareness, identify those at risk and be the driving force behind earlier detection and referral to primary care partners for screening, diagnosis and intervention. At this event, the “Chronic kidney disease – Toolkit Guide” to support pharmacists in providing a range of CKD pharmacy services will be presented.

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Toolkit

Chronic Kidney Disease Pharmacy Toolkit

The Chronic kidney disease (CKD) pharmacy toolkit has been developed to support you in efficient identification of at-risk patients and delivering motivational counselling to empower those who would benefit from CKD screening. The goal is to increase the number of currently undiagnosed at-risk patients referred for CKD screening and ensure more patients are diagnosed, and therefore managed earlier.

Objectives of the toolkit for pharmacists and team members:

Provide a foundational education in CKD
Identify patients at risk of CKD
Equip and upskill the team to employ the tools provided, and to deliver effective counselling to patients about CKD, their risks and how to get tested
Communicate and collaborate with primary care providers to facilitate earlier interventions in patients at risk of CKD

Find the CKD Pharmacy Toolkit here.