Patient Education for CKD and Decision Support in Primary Care: Findings From the EPIK Pilot Study.

Rationale & Objective: Chronic kidney disease affects millions of people in the United States, yet effective interventions to address gaps in patient knowledge and engagement are not well established. We sought to develop and pilot a brief educational decision aid for patients with CKD cared for in primary care settings.

Study Design: A pilot QI study of a decision aid intervention.

Evaluation of a Best-Practice Advisory for Primary Aldosteronism Screening.

Importance: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common cause of secondary hypertension and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Fewer than 2% to 4% of patients at risk are evaluated for PA.

Objective: To develop and evaluate an electronic health record best-practice advisory (BPA) that assists with PA screening.

Controlling Hypertension through Education and Coaching in Kidney Disease (CHECK-D): protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 30 million Americans. Early management focused on blood pressure (BP) control decreases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Less than 40% of patients with CKD achieve recommended BP targets due to many barriers.

Enhancing Resident Education by Embedding Improvement Specialists Into a Quality and Safety Curriculum.

Background: Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) curricula are critical in graduate medical education, yet barriers limit the educational experience and project outcomes.

Objective: To explore the impact of QIPS curricular enhancements and integration of continuous improvement specialists (CIS) by examining the A3 document, the primary project product and surrogate for project quality.

Methods: Since 2009, University of Michigan internal medicine and medicine-pediatric residents participate in a QIPS curriculum, which includes a 4-week group project.

Large-Scale Variability of Inpatient Tacrolimus Therapeutic Drug Monitoring at an Academic Transplant Center: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Inpatient tacrolimus therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) lacks standardized guidelines. In this study, the authors analyzed variability in the preanalytical phase of the inpatient tacrolimus TDM process at their institution.

Methods: Patients receiving tacrolimus (twice-daily formulation) and tacrolimus laboratory analysis were included in the study.