CASE STUDY
Improving identification and management of Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic Kidney Disease is a growing problem in the UK. 15% of UK population over 35 have CKD, but only 2 in 10 people with the disease are currently diagnosed.
AstraZeneca, Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP), NHIR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Northwest London, Imperial College Health Care Nephrology Department, and London Kidney Network (LKN) have collaborated on a project to improve the diagnosis and early management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in North West London (NWL).
The Project
AstraZeneca, Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP), NHIR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Northwest London, Imperial College Health Care Nephrology Department, and London Kidney Network (LKN) have collaborated on a project to improve the diagnosis and early management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in North West London (NWL).
The project has has four phases: discovery, co-design, testing and evaluation.
In the discovery phase data was collected from interviews with patients at risk of CKD, patients diagnosed with CKD, primary and secondary care clinicians as well as population data analysis and an academic literature review to understand the largest challenges and opportunities in the existing NWL pathways. Clinicians and patients co-designed pathway improvements together in workshops and these solutions were then tested in GP practices and with patients to get feedback. The solutions are now ready to be rolled out across NWL and evaluated with support from the Discover-NOW CKD data study that is analysing the CKD population over the last 10 years.
The resulting pathway recommendations include:
- Pathology results CKD guidance for primary care
- Early-stage CKD education options for primary care and patients to access
- CKD screening support for patients
- Enhanced primary care templates in Diabetes, hypertension and CKD
- CKD search and recall process for primary care
- Training and implementation package for primary care
Involving patients and the public
“It was great being involved with the workshops. I felt genuinely heard, and felt that my experiences and views as a patient were validated by hearing the experiences and thoughts of others from different cultures, backgrounds, ages and hospitals all together… The other workshop with clinicians, it felt like a genuine partnership, and that I was an equally valued member. We were all able to work together to find a solution on how to diagnosis. It was also interesting for me personally to understand the various challenges for a clinician and what is possible, or the priority.”
– Patient participant
