On July 10, 2019, the White House through an executive order laid out several goals related to something near and dear to my heart:  kidney disease.  It is not often that my medical specialty is clearly focused in the limelight, but I think this is long overdue. 

There is an ever growing population of Americans (now over 700,000) who are dependent on dialysis therapy to stay alive as a result of developing end-stage kidney failure. This population is often hidden from our view (even though there are more Americans on dialysis than live in the city of Boston). This is because the burden of the disease is so high; patients spend up to 12 or more hours per week receiving dialysis treatments and are often in the hospital dealing with complications from their illness. Patients receiving dialysis treatments are 20 times more likely to die of heart disease or infections than the general population, and the life expectancy of a patient on dialysis is similar to that of a patient with advanced stage lung cancer. This is an area of desperate medical need. 

At Watson Clinic we have been on the forefront of medical innovation for several generations and I am proud to play a small role in this legacy through our efforts in the fight against kidney disease. Among the goals the White House has set out, the first is to increase rates of kidney transplantation. While Lakeland does not have a transplant program, Watson Clinic sets the standard for Florida in the area of transplant preparation. In fact, patients receiving dialysis at our center are more than twice as likely than those treated elsewhere to receive a kidney transplant. We have accomplished this through the innovative team approach that permeates Watson Clinic, where we offer all of the medical specialties that patients need under one roof and are able to coordinate the complex care arrangements necessary to get patients successfully on the kidney transplant list. 

A second goal that the White House specifically mentioned was to increase the use of home dialysis therapies. Once again, we have been far ahead of the policy makers on this front as we have begun concerted efforts to increase use of home dialysis therapies and have doubled the percentage of our patients on home dialysis therapies over the past 1-2 years. 

I am pleased to see kidney disease finally getting the attention it deserves from our federal government through this Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health. I hope these plans will translate into kidney disease specific policy as this will improve the lives of patients with kidney disease, and have a large impact on reducing healthcare costs. As always, Watson Clinic will be here to bring the latest innovations in care to our community.  

Steven G. Achinger, MD, FASN