An estimated 13 percent of Americans have chronic kidney disease, which increases the risk for early death due mainly to cardiovascular disease. Plus the fact, that every year in the U.S., 100,000 people develop end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation for survival.
NIH awarded the University of Michigan Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (UM-KECC) http://kecc.sph.umich.edu a five year $8.5 million federal contract to serve as the coordinating center for the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) www.usrds.org
The USRDS is a national data system that collects, analyzes, and distributes information on patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. The UM-KECC in collaboration with NIH and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, provides clinical biostatistical, epidemiological, data management, and analytical expertise necessary to maintain and update the existing USRDS database.
The award combined with a $17.6 million award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services granted last October, is going to expand UM-KECCs funding for national kidney disease monitoring, quality improvement, and research.
The UM-KECC is also developing a comprehensive National Kidney Disease Registry for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The registry will provide information on trends related to kidney disease among veterans, identify veterans at risk, and help to monitor and manage, outcomes and costs.
The registry will help the VA care for more than 10,000 veterans on dialysis today with an additional 3,200 veterans estimated to reach kidney failure each year. The VA is ready to develop the registry, since the agency has vital information on veterans available from their Computerized Patient Record System that includes data from 115 hospitals treating more than 5 million veterans.