International care models for chronic kidney disease: Methods and economics - United States

In the United States, there is a major chronic kidney disease (CKD) problem with over 8 million adults having stage 3 or 4 CKD. There is good medical evidence that many of these patients can benefit from focused interventions. And while there are strong theoretical reasons to believe these interventions are cost-effective, there are little published data to back up this assertion. However, despite the lack of financial data proving cost-effectiveness and against the background of a disorganized health care system in the US, some models of CKD care are being employed. At the present time, the most comprehensive models of care in the US are emerging in vertically integrated health care programs. Other models of care are developing in the setting of managed care health plans that employ CKD disease management programs, either developed internally or in partnership with renal disease management companies. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.