Today is World Kidney Day, which is an important reminder of why kidney disease education and awareness are needed worldwide.

Roughly 1.4 million people across the globe are on dialysis and that number continues to grow each year. Kidney disease is a worldwide health concern. Today I participated in a Google+ Hangout On Air with Dr. Topoti Mukherjee, a nephrologist from India; Angela Lattimore, a dialysis patient from South Carolina; and Sara Hendren, a representative from the nonprofit program Bridge of Life – DaVita Medical Missions.

In case you missed it, here is the recording of the broadcast.

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Once again, National Kidney Month is upon us. As nephrologists we deal with kidney disease on a daily basis, but the unfortunate reality is that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a relatively unrecognized condition. Even though 1 out of 10 adults in the United States has kidney disease,[1] CKD has yet to reach the public awareness level of other chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. In fact, approximately 60 percent of patients with late-stage kidney disease are unaware their kidneys are failing.[2]

What does that mean for us as nephrologists? Our unique position as leaders in kidney care provides the opportunity to educate our patients, our loved ones and others in our communities. Here are three simple steps you can take to help raise awareness during National Kidney Month.

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I’ve written before about Twitter accounts to follow for dialysis patient resources, and now I’d like to share a few accounts I think my fellow nephrologists will be interested in. With content ranging from tweets during recent events like ASN Kidney Week to links to articles and even nephrology humor, these accounts can’t be missed. The number of nephrologists and nephrology fellows on Twitter has certainly increased in the last few years and there are many great accounts to follow. In fact, I created a nephrologist list on Twitter where you can find more. Read more…

Twitter has become one of my favorite ways to consume news about the kidney care community. Tweets abound daily with proclamations advocating for patient rights, kidney-friendly diet tips, kidney disease education resources and more. In an ever-increasing world of digital media, social networks and the like, Twitter serves as a tool for me to tune into conversations that are relevant to the topics important to me. If you’re not on Twitter and would like to become part of the larger digital kidney care community that lives there, here are a few must-follow accounts to get you started. Read more…