I am proud to announce that Mahesh Krishnan, M.D., MPH, MBA, FASN, will serve as the DaVita Kidney Care’s international chief medical officer and group vice president of research and development to implement global clinical initiatives. DaVita Kidney Care currently operates in 10 counties outside of the U.S. Dr. Krishnan’s expertise will enhance our commitment to clinical differentiation and bring quality of care for our patients around the world.

You can follow Dr. Krishnan on Twitter when he takes over the @DaVitaDoc account as he travels through Asia-Pacific from February 26 through March 8. His tweets will be signed -MK.

Click here to read the full announcement.

In February I shared with many of you that DaVita Kidney Care was honored by the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a contract to care for nearly half of the 10,000 dialysis patients currently under the ministry’s care. With this opportunity came a tremendous challenge, as the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has accelerated faster in Saudi Arabia over the past three decades than in many parts of the world(1), and the need for strong healthcare providers, physicians and nurses has never been greater.

Today I am proud to welcome Dr. Abdulkareem Alsuwaida, FRCPC, MSc, to our physician leadership team as the chief medical officer (CMO) for DaVita in Saudi Arabia. I have known Abdulkareem for some time now and have seen how his commitment to clinical excellence has been a driving force throughout his nephrology career. He has devoted his life to improving the quality of care for patients with CKD, extending from their overall experience to their clinical outcomes.

Abdulkareem’s appointment to the CMO role adds to an already impressive career. He received his medical degree from King Abdulaziz University and his postgraduate medical education in internal medicine and nephrology from the University of Toronto. He has published more than 40 clinical research papers on dialysis, glomerulonephritis and lupus nephritis, and is a past president for the Saudi Society of Nephrology and Transplantation. While there, Abdulkareem led several CKD awareness initiatives and collaborated with key international groups dedicated to treating patients with CKD, including the International Society of Nephrology, the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology, the European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) and the Screening and Early Prevention of Kidney Disease study group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Understanding the influence of research on improved outcomes, Abdulkareem has dedicated much of his career to uncovering new insights and has received accolades, including the 2006 Best Research Award from the Saudi Society of Nephrology and Transplantation, and the 2006 Best Research Award for King Fahad Medical City’s research day.

In addition to serving as DaVita’s CMO for Saudi Arabia, Abdulkareem is a professor of medicine and director of postgraduate education at King Saud University in Riyadh, as well as a consulting nephrologist in the division of nephrology at the King Khalid University Hospital.

Earlier this month, while attending the 51st ERA-EDTA Congress in Amsterdam, Abdulkareem shared with me that it was a top priority for both the Ministry of Health and the thousands of Saudi men and women affected by CKD that we provide the absolute highest quality of care. And he knew that joining DaVita was the path by which he could not only contribute to elevating the standard of care in the country, but also make a long-term commitment to improving the overall health of the population.

Please join me in welcoming Abdulkareem to the DaVita Village; my colleagues and I are excited to see such an exceptional physician have the opportunity to lead the charge in impacting patient care and quality of life on a larger scale in Saudi Arabia.

(1) Abdulla A. Al-Sayyari, FRCP,FACP, Faissal A. Shaheen, FRCP,FACP Saudi Med J 2011; Vol. 32 (4), http://smj.psmmc.med.sa/index.php/smj/article/viewFile/7158/4932

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.

Read more…

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.

Read more…

The recently announced partnership of DaVita and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a great opportunity to work together with an outstanding healthcare-delivery system to improve the health of its citizens. Kidney disease is an emerging public health concern in Saudi Arabia, as it is in the United States. DaVita is honored to be able to bring our knowledge and experience to enhance what is already excellent care, as well as to continue learning how best to improve care for kidney patients. This is truly a winning situation for DaVita, for Saudi Arabia and for kidney patients.

Read on below for more details on this partnership.

Left to right: Vice Minister of Health and Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour Naser Al-Howasi, Charge d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Tim Lenderking, Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah, Chief Operating Officer of DaVita HealthCare Partners, Dennis Kogod.

Read more…

DaVita is entering the world of international dialysis in a big way. We are partnering with doctors in Singapore, India, China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Germany and other countries. As we embark on this exciting adventure, we again are faced with the nagging perception that dialysis outcomes in the United States are worse than those in other parts of the world. Two recent articles provide fascinating perspectives on this important issue. Read more…

Kidney disease has become a condition of epidemic proportions throughout the world. Afflicted patients have high morbidity and mortality, and the costs of care to individuals, governments and society are staggering. I have had the fortune to see the discipline of nephrology grow from one where dialysis and transplantation were scarce, prior to 1972, to the present where the growing needs of aging populations are straining our ability to deliver high quality, cost-effective care. Over the next weeks, months and years, I hope that this blog will stimulate thought about how we can fulfill our mission as physicians, to always think of what is best for patients first, while being responsible stewards of the public trust and resources which enable us to carry out this mission.

The global nature of this challenge came sharply into focus to me on a recent trip to Singapore.  I went there to visit two large academic hospitals, Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital, as well as to see some of the dialysis facilities in that country. I was struck by the highly sophisticated state of medical care in Singapore, the access to care for needy and wealthy citizens alike, and the insightful comments and questions after my presentations. I realized that I was guilty, as many of us are in the US, of having preconceptions that care was inferior elsewhere, despite statistics that would suggest the contrary. In fact, in Singapore, fewer than 10% of patients dialyze through a percutaneous catheter, and intermediate outcomes for anemia, dialysis adequacy, and so on are quite similar, if not better than ours.

The population in Singapore are aging and the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension are increasing.  The impact is already being seen in a renewed strain on the healthcare system, a rise in the appearance of CKD, and an increase in the incident ESRD rate. Older, sicker patients needing dialysis in a system with restrained resources. Sound familiar?

As author and NY Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman has pointed out in his bestselling book, “The World Is Flat,” our world is indeed becoming flat. For healthcare and its challenges this may be coming more slowly, but it is definitely happening. Re-energizing research into the causes and prevention of CKD/ESRD as well as accelerating current research to emulate the function of natural kidneys will become even more important as this global epidemic continues to unfold. The development of innovative, more cost-effective approaches to preventing and treating ESRD needs to occur so that not only the length, but the quality of life for these vulnerable patients can be enhanced.

“There is no substitute for face-to-face reporting and research,”
Thomas Friedman, author of The World Is Flat

I look forward to your comments, until next time.

Striving to bring quality to life,

Allen R. Nissenson, MD