Best Practice Perspectives on Improving Early Detection and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease Associated With Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that can lead to kidney failure and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality (1,2). Diabetes is a major risk factor for developing CKD (3) and CVD independent of CKD (4). Approximately 37 million people in the United States have CKD, and most (90%) are unaware they have the condition, so their CKD remains undiagnosed in primary care (3). Although treatment guidelines recommend screening at least annually for CKD in people with type 2 diabetes (5–7), uptake of screening for CKD in adults with diabetes remains low in routine clinical care (8). In the United States, prescription rates of guideline-recommended medications that have been shown to prevent CKD progression in people with CKD associated with type 2 diabetes also remain low (9,10).