Program offers decision-support tech to prevent kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease is surprisingly common. In fact, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 26 million people have the condition, including 15.5 million who have lost between half and three-quarters of their kidney function. Meanwhile, about 400,000 people with end-stage renal disease consume about 6 percent of the Medicare budget.

Working to address these huge numbers, LabCorp's Chicago-based Litholink subsidiary has developed a program providing patient-specific clinical guidance to doctors. Litholink, which was founded by Dr. Fredric Coe of the University of Chicago, provides a program designed to prevent the formation or recurrence of kidney stones.

The guidance, which is based on the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative, is designed to help not only nephrology specialists, but also internal medicine, family practitioners, general practitioners, nurse practitioners and others. The idea is not only to improve kidney disease care, but also to prevent such diseases from arising whenever possible. Litholink will provide physician decision support, quarterly outcomes reports benchmarked against physician peers, consultation and education.

To learn more about this program:
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