Better Care for Patients with Kidney Disease

A Better Patient Experience

See how CVS Kidney Care aims to improve quality of life
and outcomes for patients with kidney disease

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Kidney Care, a new CVS Health business, has launched the first phase of its chronic kidney disease (CKD) management services, with the goal of eventually offering a patient-centric, comprehensive care model to better support those with CKD and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the U.S.

Kidney disease is a prevalent condition that can also be expensive to treat, particularly when not managed appropriately. Kidney care is a highly under-served area with few, if any, entities able to provide complete support and end-to-end management leaving a huge unmet clinical need. CVS Kidney Care’s model is designed to provide total support at every step of the condition journey to help improve patient outcomes and lower overall health care costs for payors.

The CVS Kidney Care Model

With CVS Health’s enterprise assets — from experience with complex patient home care, to chronic disease management, and payor relationships — CVS Kidney Care is set to reshape kidney care through earlier interventions focused on a better patient experience and reducing total health care costs for payors. Currently, care is heavily focused on very late-stage disease, by which point patients have lost critical kidney function and are receiving or nearing the need for dialysis. As a result, hospitalizations are frequent and mortality is high. Surviving patients often have poor health outcomes and quality of life.

48% of those with severely reduced kidney function are not aware they have CKD

96% of people with kidney damage or mildly reduced kidney function are not aware they have CKD

	48% of those with severely reduced kidney function are not aware they have CKD
	96% of people with kidney damage or mildly reduced kidney function are not aware they have CKD

https://www.cdc.gov/kidneydisease/pdf/kidney_factsheet.pdf

Once the full roll-out is complete, CVS Kidney Care will be able to support CKD and ESRD patients throughout their journey starting as early as diagnosis, including support during transplant or dialysis, and for other care needs. By identifying key gaps in care, which we have the resources and experience to close with appropriate clinical interventions, we can help improve quality of life and outcomes for patients while reducing costs for payors. Our model is designed to delay the onset of ESRD, and reduce hospitalizations, unnecessary emergency room (ER) visits and adverse events, all of which help to lower the overall cost of care.

Better Management of CKD and ESRD

Earlier identification, better patient education, and improved access to home dialysis can improve both quality of life and outcomes. This begins with helping patients better understand the treatment options available to them, and making better, more convenient, treatment options available to patients.

We will continue to expand the services offered through our CKD management to include:

  Identifying and engaging mid-to-late stage patients earlier

  Providing all-inclusive education to diagnosed patients

  Offering education on kidney health, diet, comorbidities, and prescription management

  Helping patients better understand their treatment options

  Prioritizing transplant and home solutions to better meet patient health goals

In the next several months, we will also begin to offer face-to-face, personalized support and therapy education, as well as other proven patient engagement strategies. The long-term goal for CVS Kidney Care is to also provide home dialysis services including comprehensive training for patients on their selected mode of home treatment, help transitioning to their modality of choice, and ongoing support for patients on home treatment.