Credits Available: 4.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points available

Description: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is estimated to impact approximately 37 million individuals in the United States (U.S). Furthermore, about 786,000 persons are living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and receive renal replacement therapy, either through maintenance dialysis or kidney transplantation. Hyperphosphatemia, characterized by phosphorus levels in the bloodstream exceeding the normal parameters of 2.5–4.5 mg/dL, constitutes a critical aspect of the mineral and bone disorder associated with CKD. Elevated levels of serum phosphorus facilitate vascular calcification, impair endothelial function, and may play a role in other newly identified mechanisms of cardiovascular toxicity specific to CKD. The treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD requiring dialysis is complex and is ideally managed by a multidisciplinary team of care providers including nephrologists, advanced practice providers (APPs), nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals. Evidence suggests that multidisciplinary care models can slow the progression of CKD and improve mortality rates, but gaps remain in the availability and implementation of these models across different healthcare settings. These challenges include dietary management, optimization of dialysis, pharmacological interventions, patient education, addressing adherence concerns, and the need for comprehensive care models. This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with hyperphosphatemia.

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This program is intended for:
Target Professions: DO, MD, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Dietitian, Pharmacist, MBBS
Target Specialties: Nephrology, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Internal Medicine, Nutrition Support, Clinical Pharmacy

Lindsay Ducharme

Vital Kidney Nutrition LLC

I have been a registered dietitian since 2009 and found my passion for renal nutrition in 2014 when I began working at a dialysis center. I quickly learned that very few of my dialysis patients were ever told diet changes could make a difference in their chronic health conditions. Over the years, I realized I wanted to help those with non-dialysis kidney disease so they could potentially delay or avoid ending up on dialysis but couldn't find a specific job opportunity in that area. That is when I decided I needed to start my own private practice. In 2021, I officially became board certified in renal nutrition and opened my private practice, Vital Kidney Nutrition. I now help clients throughout the US slow or stop the progression of their kidney disease with individualized nutrition counseling.