LAKEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Renal Ventures Management (RVM), a leading provider of dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, continues its efforts to raise the standard of renal patient care during National Kidney Awareness Month. George R. Aronoff, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.P., Chief Medical Officer of Renal Ventures Management, said the company is continuing its focus on practical strategies and innovative programs to achieve continued and measureable care improvements.

“We’re operating in a challenging and dynamic environment of health care reform with a stronger focus than ever on achieving quality care and improved outcomes resulting in better coverage and reimbursement,” said Aronoff, who is speaking on several renal care topics in the coming months. “We’re meeting this challenge by rewriting the standards of care for renal patients through hands-on patient care, supporting clinical research and through our industry-leading programs.”

As CMO, Dr. Aronoff directs the RV Quality programs, including RV CARE, RV Kidney Care and RV TLC. According to the United States Renal Data System 2014 Annual Data Report and internal RVM data, these programs have successfully lowered hospitalization rates due to access infections and cardiovascular events for RVM patients to just 24 percent?less than half the national average. Additionally, the programs have helped lower the all-cause first-year mortality rate at RVM centers to just 2 percent compared with the national average of 35 percent. RVM is also the most successful national dialysis provider at transitioning patients from a temporary catheter to a permanent access port, which results in fewer hospitalizations, lower mortality rates and better quality of life.

In addition to his 30 years of experience in designing and performing clinical research in hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, transplant and CKD patients, Dr. Aronoff maintained an active clinical practice in chronic kidney disease, dialysis and transplantation. He is also a frequent lecturer on renal care innovation, quality standards and cost-effective delivery of services.

On Friday, March 20, 2015, Dr. Aronoff discusses the critical role of the medical director in the dialysis facility in “Practical Strategies for Medical Directors to Satisfy the Conditions for Coverage.” The talk is being delivered at the Renal Physicians Association annual meeting in Baltimore, Md.

On June 24, 2015, Dr. Aronoff presents “How Dialysis Really Gets Paid For,” focusing on the administrative, financial and regulatory issues of payment to Nephrologists and dialysis units for dialysis care. The presentation is being delivered during the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs annual meeting at the society’s Practical Outpatient Dialysis Short Course, designed to provide trainees and recent graduates in Nephrology with practical guidance to managing the real-world situations that arise in outpatient dialysis practice.

Earlier this year, Dr. Aronoff presented “Salt: Is It Really a Four Letter Word?” at the NKF of Florida Renal Professional Forum in February, discussing the impact of dietary sodium intake on patients with kidney disease. The program is designed specifically for renal social workers, dietitians, nurses and technicians.

From its groundbreaking educational programs to the continued research and development of advance treatment protocols for peritoneal dialysis patients, RVM continues to influence and re-shape the renal disease industry. RVM now operates 36 centers nationwide, with 20 of those centers providing peritoneal dialysis.

About Renal Ventures Management, LLC

Renal Ventures Management LLC is a leading provider of dialysis services in the U.S. The company partners with hospitals and physicians to provide patients suffering from chronic kidney failure with knowledgeable, compassionate and quality-focused care in comfortable clinic settings. For its hospital and nephrologist partners, Renal Ventures Management provides management expertise and patient-focused care operations which center around collaboration, quality and effectiveness. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., the company operates 35 dialysis partnerships and 25 inpatient service contracts in six states. They also operate seven infusion centers in two states treating patients with various autoimmune disorders and a vascular access center in Lafayette, Louisiana. For more information, visit www.renalventures.com.

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Still, approximately 70% of patients initiate dialysis with a catheter.

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) use increased from 24% in 1997 to 68% in 2013 in the U.S. hemodialysis (HD) population a new study finds. Over the same period, central venous catheter (CVC) use declined from 27% to 15%. These trends continued following the introduction of the prospective payment program for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2011.

“It is clear that a culture devoted to improved vascular access, accelerated through the efforts of the CMS Fistula First Initiative, ESRD Networks, dialysis providers, and the NKF-KDOQI guidelines, has resulted in great gains for this very important facet of U.S. hemodialysis patient care,”stated the research team led by Ronald L. Pisoni, PhD, of the Arbor Research Collaborative for Health in Ann Arbor, MI.

A few challenges remain, however. Among new patients, CVC use at hemodialysis initiation remained high at 70% (other national data report 80%), while AVF use, often considered the best option, remained low. Dialysis facilities in the United States likewise reported longer times to first AVF cannulation. Given the high rates of bacteremia, hospitalization, and mortality associated with CVC, the researchers suggest focusing additional efforts and incentives pre-dialysis to AVF.

For the study, the investigators studied patterns in vascular access use among 3,442 hemodialysis patients in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) Practice Monitor (DPM) in the U.S., as well as nearly 8,500 patients from 19 other countries. According to results published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the United States exhibited “intermediate” AVF and CVC use among all 20 countries in 2012 to 2013, and the highest use of arteriovenous grafts (AVG).

Investigators also examined vascular access patterns by race. In 2013, AVG use was twice as high in black patients (26%) than others. Lower AVF use in black patients may be explained in part by recent study findings show that African-American males undergoing AV access surgery have significantly smaller median basilic and cephalic vein diameters.

Patient preferences may also play a role in vascular access patterns. The investigators asked patients to complete questionnaires, and while response was low, they received some interesting opinions: fewer female patients preferred an AV access; some patients preferred catheters to avoid large needles, needle sticks, and bleeding; and some were uniformed about the options in vascular access with their relative rates of infection.

1. Pisoni, RL, et al. AJKD; doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2014.12.014.

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Still, approximately 70% of patients initiate dialysis with a catheter.

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) use increased from 24% in 1997 to 68% in 2013 in the U.S. hemodialysis (HD) population a new study finds. Over the same period, central venous catheter (CVC) use declined from 27% to 15%. These trends continued following the introduction of the prospective payment program for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2011.

“It is clear that a culture devoted to improved vascular access, accelerated through the efforts of the CMS Fistula First Initiative, ESRD Networks, dialysis providers, and the NKF-KDOQI guidelines, has resulted in great gains for this very important facet of U.S. hemodialysis patient care,”stated the research team led by Ronald L. Pisoni, PhD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

A few challenges remain, however. Among new patients, CVC use at hemodialysis initiation remained high at 70% (other national data report 80%), while AVF use, often considered the best option, remained low. Dialysis facilities in the United States likewise reported longer times to first AVF cannulation. Given the high rates of bacteremia, hospitalization, and mortality associated with CVC, the researchers suggest focusing additional efforts and incentives pre-dialysis to AVF.

For the study, the investigators studied patterns in vascular access use among 3,442 hemodialysis patients in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) Practice Monitor (DPM) in the U.S., as well as nearly 8,500 patients from 19 other countries. According to results published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the United States exhibited “intermediate” AVF and CVC use among all 20 countries in 2012 to 2013, and the highest use of arteriovenous grafts (AVG).

Investigators also examined vascular access patterns by race. In 2013, AVG use was twice as high in black patients (26%) than others. Lower AVF use in black patients may be explained in part by recent study findings show that African-American males undergoing AV access surgery have significantly smaller median basilic and cephalic vein diameters.

Patient preferences may also play a role in vascular access patterns. The investigators asked patients to complete questionnaires, and while response was low, they received some interesting opinions: fewer female patients preferred an AV access; some patients preferred catheters to avoid large needles, needle sticks, and bleeding; and some were uniformed about the options in vascular access with their relative rates of infection.

1. Pisoni, RL, et al. AJKD; doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2014.12.014.

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