Rise of pay for performance: implications for care of people with chronic kidney disease

Many health care providers and policy makers believe that health care financing systems fail to reward high-quality care. In recent years, federal and private payers have begun to promote pay for performance, or value-based purchasing, initiatives to raise the quality of care. This report describes conceptual issues in the design and implementation of pay for performance for chronic kidney disease and ESRD care. It also considers the implications of recent ESRD payment policy changes on the broader goals of pay for performance. Congressionally mandated bundle payment demonstration for dialysis, newly implemented case-mix adjustment of the composite rate, and G codes for the monthly capitation payment are important opportunities to understand facility and provider behavior with particular attention to patient selection and treatment practices. Well-designed payment systems will reward quality care for patients while maintaining appropriate accountability and fairness for health care providers

Risk prediction to inform surveillance of chronic kidney disease in the US Healthcare Safety Net: a cohort study.

BackgroundThe capacity of electronic health record (EHR) data to guide targeted surveillance in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear. We sought to leverage EHR data for predicting risk of progressing from CKD to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to help inform surveillance of CKD among vulnerable patients from the healthcare safety-net.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults (n = 28,779) with CKD who received care within 2 regional safety-net health systems during 1996-2009 in the Western United States. The primary outcomes were progression to ESRD and death as ascertained by linkage with United States Renal Data System and Social Security Administration Death Master files, respectively, through September 29, 2011. We evaluated the performance of 3 models which included demographic, comorbidity and laboratory data to predict progression of CKD to ESRD in conditions commonly targeted for disease management (hypertension, diabetes, chronic viral diseases and severe CKD) using traditional discriminatory criteria (AUC) and recent criteria intended to guide population health management strategies.ResultsOverall, 1730 persons progressed to end-stage renal disease and 7628 died during median follow-up of 6.6 years. Performance of risk models incorporating common EHR variables was highest in hypertension, intermediate in diabetes and chronic viral diseases, and lowest in severe CKD. Surveillance of persons who were in the highest quintile of ESRD risk yielded 83-94 %, 74-95 %, and 75-82 % of cases who progressed to ESRD among patients with hypertension, diabetes and chronic viral diseases, respectively. Similar surveillance yielded 42-71 % of ESRD cases among those with severe CKD. Discrimination in all conditions was universally high (AUC ≥0.80) when evaluated using traditional criteria.ConclusionsRecently proposed discriminatory criteria account for varying risk distribution and when applied to common clinical conditions may help to inform surveillance of CKD in diverse populations

Use of Estimating Equations for Dosing Antimicrobials in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury Not Receiving Renal Replacement Therapy.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) can potentially lead to the accumulation of antimicrobial drugs with significant renal clearance. Drug dosing adjustments are commonly made using the Cockcroft-Gault estimate of creatinine clearance (CLcr). The Modified Jelliffe equation is significantly better at estimating kidney function than the Cockcroft-Gault equation in the setting of AKI. The objective of this study is to assess the degree of antimicrobial dosing discordance using different glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations. This is a retrospective evaluation of antimicrobial dosing using different estimating equations for kidney function in AKI and comparison to Cockcroft-Gault estimation as a reference. Considering the Cockcroft-Gault estimate as the criterion standard, antimicrobials were appropriately adjusted at most 80.7% of the time. On average, kidney function changed by 30 mL/min over the course of an AKI episode. The median clearance at the peak serum creatinine was 27.4 (9.3⁻66.3) mL/min for Cockcroft Gault, 19.8 (9.8⁻47.0) mL/min/1.73 m² for MDRD and 20.5 (4.9⁻49.6) mL/min for the Modified Jelliffe equations. The discordance rate for antimicrobial dosing ranged from a minimum of 8.6% to a maximum of 16.4%. In the event of discordance, the dose administered was supra-therapeutic 100% of the time using the Modified Jelliffe equation. Use of estimating equations other than the Cockcroft Gault equation may significantly alter dosing of antimicrobials in AKI

Validation of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) Cognitive Function subscale

Validation of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) Cognitive Function subscale.BackgroundFormal cognitive function testing is cumbersome, and no self-administered instruments for estimating cognitive function in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have been validated. The goal of this study was to determine the validity of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Cognitive Function scale (KDQOL-CF) for the assessment of cognitive impairment in persons with kidney disease.MethodsWe administered the KDQOL-CF to 157 subjects, 79 with ESRD and 78 with CKD participating in a cross-sectional study of cognitive function. Scores on the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS) were considered the gold standard measure of global cognitive function. Performance characteristics of the KDQOL-CF were assessed using correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman plots, and receiver operating characteristic curves.ResultsMedian scores on the KDQOL-CF were 73 (interquartile range 60–87) for subjects with ESRD and 87 (interquartile range 73–100) for subjects with CKD (P < 0.0001). Scores on the KDQOL-CF were directly correlated with scores on the 3MS (r = 0.31, P = 0.0001). Defining global cognitive impairment as a 3MS score <80, a cut-point of 60 on the KDQOL-CF accurately classified 76% of subjects, with 52% sensitivity and 81% specificity. On multivariable analysis, cerebral and peripheral vascular disease, benzodiazepine use, and higher serum phosphorus concentrations were associated with lower KDQOL-CF scores, while beta blocker use, education, and higher serum albumin concentrations were associated with higher KDQOL-CF scores.ConclusionThe KDQOL-CF is a valid instrument for estimating cognitive function in patients with CKD and ESRD. KDQOL-CF screening followed by 3MS testing in selected individuals may prove to be an effective and efficient strategy for identifying cognitive impairment in patients with kidney disease