
Lawmakers urge updated stronger guidelines on chronic kidney disease screening
CKD has become 10th leading cause of death nationally.
Patients would benefit from stronger federal guidelines for screening for
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is considering revising its
On June 3, they
“Medicare’s expenditure on CKD and its progression underscore a severe financial and public health burden, borne most heavily by the federal government,” said
Apart from the human toll, Medicare now spends more than $136 billion managing care of people with CKD and more than $50 billion managing kidney failure through the end-stage renal disease benefit, the letter said.
Good treatments, low awareness
New “breakthrough therapies, such as sodium glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and nonsteroidal mineralcorticoid receptor agonists (ns-MRAs), save kidneys, hearts, and lives,” the lawmakers said. But up to 90% of people with CKD don’t know about their condition, and just 30% of people with
“A federal kidney disease screening recommendation would increase early detection and improve quality-of-life and physical functioning for millions of people, while preventing costly consequences including deaths, kidney failure, and cardiovascular complications,” the letter said.
What’s in place now
As for the current recommendation, the USPSTF website said it is out of date. The Task Force’s website lists the 2016 recommendation as inactive, and notes the previous evidence review and recommendation issued in 2012 may contain outdated information. Primary care physicians and clinicians should consult other sources for
USPSTF has published an “Update in Progress for Chronic Kidney Disease: Screening.” Its draft research plan includes proposed key questions for review to weigh the effects and harms of screening for CKD vs. no screening.
Supporters
The letter from 44 members of Congress was sent to USPSTF Chair Wanda Nicholson, MD, MPH, MBA, and federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Director Robert Otto Valdez, PhD, MHSA, which helps coordinate research for the Task Force.
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