Empowering Patients with Educational Resources for Kidney Disease, with Mike Spigler

The American Kidney Fund (AKF) recently released new patient-focused guidelines to help individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) manage and treat hyperkalemia.¹

Developed with support from AstraZeneca, the guidelines begin with an outline of steps for patients to take if they are at risk of high potassium, emphasizing the importance of monitoring potassium levels through blood tests and working with a health care team to conduct routine lab work and establish a treatment plan. They then go on to explain how patients can discuss high potassium with their health care provider, understand their potassium level, recognize symptoms of high potassium, and adhere to their treatment plan.¹

"Managing hyperkalemia can be overwhelming and stressful," LaVarne Burton, president and CEO of AKF, said in a press release.² "These guidelines will help people with hyperkalemia understand the importance of keeping potassium at a healthy level and will give them the knowledge they need to take an active role in managing their health care."

For additional insight into the significance of the guidelines and the importance of providing patients with such resources, the editorial team of HCPLive Nephrology spoke with Michael Spigler, vice president of patient support and education at AKF.

HCPLive Nephrology: Why is it important to provide patients with resources like this to help them understand their condition and manage their health effectively?

Spigler: AKF’s patient-focused hyperkalemia guidelines are an essential resource to help people living with chronic kidney disease create and follow a plan to manage high potassium under the guidance of their health care provider. Providing patients with resources, such as these guidelines, empowers people with the appropriate knowledge about their condition, which can lead to better self-management and improved health outcomes. These resources also facilitate productive conversations between patients and their doctors about a personalized plan, which can help build a stronger patient-doctor relationship.

Additionally, AKF's Beyond Bananas campaign website provides additional resources for patients on managing hyperkalemia that could also greatly benefit patients with kidney disease.

HCPLive Nephrology: Can you explain how these guidelines were developed and the significance of involving both patients and professionals in this process?

Spigler: People with chronic kidney disease are at an increased risk of developing hyperkalemia because their kidneys do not work as well as they should to remove extra potassium in the blood, leading to elevated levels of potassium in the body. Not treating high potassium can cause severe heart problems, making careful management of high potassium critical.

To help inform the development of the guidelines, AKF conducted focus groups with patients as well as interviews with professionals, including nephrologists, a cardiologist, and a dialysis technician. These focus groups included people with hyperkalemia and people in the general kidney patient population who were asked to share their awareness of hyperkalemia and their knowledge of how to manage it. Health care providers shared the types of conversations they typically have with patients about potassium.

Using insights from this research, we then worked with medical experts on the evidence-based, health-literate content. The hyperkalemia guidelines recommend that patients and providers work together to create a personalized plan to manage and treat high potassium based on a patient’s stage of chronic kidney disease, blood test results, and other treatments. The collaboration between patients and providers in the development of these guidelines helps ensure a comprehensive, patient-centered approach and can help increase patient satisfaction and better adherence to the guidelines.

HCPLive Nephrology: How do these guidelines aim to empower patients to actively manage their potassium levels and improve their overall kidney health? Additionally, how do they foster collaboration between patients and healthcare providers?

Spigler: These guidelines will help people with hyperkalemia understand the importance of keeping potassium at a healthy level and will give them the knowledge they need to take an active role in managing their health care. The guidelines also will help equip people with chronic kidney disease to work in partnership with their health care provider and develop a personalized plan to help them manage and treat high potassium based on the stage of their chronic kidney disease.

In the guidelines, we encourage patients to talk to their health care provider about their potassium, providing questions to ask. Our guidelines also provide information to improve self-management of the condition, as they include tips to help people follow the plan created by their provider, along with information on checking potassium numbers, symptoms of hyperkalemia, medicines that can help manage potassium numbers, and foods to eat and avoid. We also thought it was important that the guidelines provide context and additional details about the decision process for the management of hyperkalemia – a level of detail that complements conversations in the doctor’s office.

HCPLive Nephrology: Are there other aspects of kidney disease where you think guidelines similar to these could benefit patients?

Spigler: Any evidence-based, health-literate educational resource that empowers patients to advocate for themselves is a benefit to the patient. AKF has a number of disease-specific resources that help guide conversations with a doctor, giving patients specific questions to ask about their condition and management of their disease. This fosters a collaborative relationship between the patient and health care provider with the goal of improving health outcomes.

In addition to talk-to-your-doctor guides, AKF’s Know Your Kidneys program serves as a roadmap for patients along their journey with kidney disease that directly reflects the clinical practice guidelines for preventing, diagnosing, and managing kidney disease

Editors’ note: Spigler has no relevant disclosures of interest.

References

1. ^{Brooks, A. New Hyperkalemia Guidelines Help Patients with CKD Manage, Treat High Potassium. HCPLive. July 12, 2024. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.hcplive.com/view/hyperkalemia-guidelines-ckd-manage-treat-high-potassium}
2. ^{American Kidney Fund. New Guidelines from the American Kidney Fund Will Help People with Chronic Kidney Disease Manage High Potassium. July 11, 2024. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.kidneyfund.org/article/new-guidelines-american-kidney-fund-will-help-people-chronic-kidney-disease-manage-high-potassium?check_logged_in=1}