Automated Clinical Reminders in the Care of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Literature supports that most chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are cared for by primary care physicians (PCP) without the help of a kidney specialist. Many of these patients fail to achieve targeted outcomes and late referral to a nephrologist has been associated with an increased risk of death. Automated computerized clinical reminders have been shown to improve physician compliance with recommended guidelines in other settings. Aims: To determine if clinical reminders can help PCPs decrease the rate of late referrals, improve urine albumin checks in CKD patients Design: prospective randomized controlled, single-blinded study with additional historical control Methods: Two 20-minute teaching sessions aimed at all GIM PCPs in the UPMC clinic followed by randomization of the eligible GIM providers to receive automated clinical reminders (CR) for their CKD stage 3b-5 patients versus routine care. Outcomes: Using a database search, individuals with an eGFR\<45ml/min/1.73m2 (not seen by a nephrologist) will have data collected on: PCP referral to a nephrologist, urinary albumin (or protein) quantification in the past year, PCP recognition of patients with eGFR\<45ml/min, ACE/ARB usage.