The growth in the number of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has tapered and is being offset by continuous improvements in survival. The result is a continued steady increase in the number of patients requiring renal replacement therapy.
A year and a half ago, Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological Institute and Nephrology Department joined to form the Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute. Merging urologists, nephrologists, kidney and pancreas transplant surgeons, hypertension specialists, dialysis physicians, and scientists into one group was part of an institution-wide movement at Cleveland Clinic that organized clinical areas around organ and disease systems rather than individual specialties.
The kidney-care community can point to more than 30 years of clinical accomplishments. In particular, the past 10 years have been marked by steady improvement in patient access to dialysis centers and improvement in clinical outcomes. Still, important challenges remain.
