On April 29th, 2017, Carolina Nephrology and Columbia Nephrology hosted the third Annual Carolina Kidney Alliance meeting at Wild Dunes in Charleston, SC. Health professionals from across the state including Anderson, Greenville, Charleston, Rock Hill, Florence and Columbia met to discuss the pertinent issues concerning healthcare, practice improvements and legislation.
The Carolina Kidney Alliance members would like to give a special thanks to our sponsors for this year’s meeting: Platinum Sponsor – Amgen; Silver Sponsor – Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and our Bronze Sponsors – Alexion, Opkohealth, Relypsa, Keryx and the South Carolina Medical Association.
This meeting provided a platform for discussing issues ranging from Renal Physician Associations updates, MACRA & governmental reporting, Clinical Care transformations, growth of home therapies, and practice economies of scale.
One in eight South Carolinians have kidney disease and South Carolina is fifth in the nation per capita in the number of patients on dialysis. However, the Southeast has the lowest kidney transplant rates in the nation. Therefore, one primary goal of the alliance is to break through barriers that have caused this region to fall behind, allowing South Carolina to lead in the kidney transplant field.
The alliance plans to focus on patient centered, cost driven objectives that align with the hospitals in each community. The alliance will also provide a breadth of opportunities to develop new strategies to overcome barriers limiting patients’ access to care. As it moves forward, the goal is to create better alignment with the many statewide Nephrology practices, our various dialysis partners and the multiple hospitals we serve. By working together, the CKD patients within the state of South Carolina will be exposed to the highest quality of kidney care available.