Early detection and management of Chronic Kidney Disease

Tool to help early detection and management of Chronic Kidney Disease

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says an electronic decision support tool will help General Practitioners improve the detection and management of patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

The Southern DHB, nephrology department and Best Practice Advocacy Centre (BPAC) have worked together over a number of years to build a CKD decision Support application for Primary Care.

The Ministry of Health have contracted BPAC to release the CKD decision support tool as part of the National Decision Support Suite to New Zealand Primary Care. The tool, which will be rolled out progressively on a region by region basis, was launched at the Southern District Health Board in Dunedin today.

The burden of CKD on New Zealand communities is increasing and the number of people requiring dialysis has almost doubled since 2000.

Early CKD identification and appropriate management is important because intervention can slow the progression of the disease, delay or prevent end stage disease requiring renal replacement therapy, and reduce the associated increased risk of cardiovascular disease

The tool which is underpinned by bestpractice clinical guidelines will greatly assist general practitioners by automatically classifying a patient’s stage of CKD as stable or progressive and also provides tailored management advice and referral recommendations, and where available, pre-populated electronic referrals.

This new tool is part of the Government’s commitment to protect and grow our public health services, supported by the extra $400 million being investing into the health sector.

ENDS

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