Leader in Improving Diagnosis is Keynote Speaker at NKF’s 2019 Spring Clinical Meetings

New York, NY – May 6, 2109 – One of the leaders in the field of patient safety, Mark Graber, MD, FACP, of Stony Brook University and a founding member of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, will give the keynote lecture at the National Kidney Foundation’s 2019 Spring Clinical Meetings in Boston.

 

Dr. Graber’s lecture is titled “Improving Diagnosis – A Call to Action for the Nephrology Team,” and will be held May 9 from 2:15 to 4 p.m. EST, at the Hynes Convention Center. 

 

 “Early diagnosis is key to slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease [CKD] and improving patient outcomes,” said NKF President Holly J. Kramer, MD, MPH. “This makes Dr. Graber’s topic of improving diagnosis all the more relevant and consequential in the field of nephrology.”

 

In his keynote lecture at the NKF conference for kidney professionals, Dr. Graber will discuss the evidence demonstrating that diagnostic error is an underappreciated problem, both in terms of its likelihood and its consequences.

 

“There is growing evidence that we can improve clinical reasoning through just a bit of social psychology training, and improved use of second opinions, teamwork, and the decision-support tools that are already available,” he said. “We all need to be aware that diagnosis is inherently complex, difficult, and error prone. There are things we can do, as patients and as clinicians, to help minimize this risk.”

 

Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) on “Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare,” there has been a renaissance of interest in diagnosis, Dr. Graber said. The ECRI Institute, a nonprofit, research group that reviews medical practices and products, designated diagnostic error as the number one patient safety concern in 2018. Dr. Graber will discuss this NAM report and its recommendations in his keynote address at the Boston meetings.

 

“Despite the best intentions, errors in diagnosis happen and reflect the complexity of the diagnostic process and healthcare systems,” said NKF’s Program Chair Harold Szerlip, MD, FACP, FCCP, FASN, FNKF, and Chief, Nephrology Division, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas. “By understanding how these errors occur physicians can help decrease them and improve patient outcomes."

 

Dr. Graber currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Stony Brook University, NY, and Chief Medical Officer, Founder and President Emeritus of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. He is recognized for bringing the role of diagnostic error to the forefront of the patient safety movement. Dr. Graber is a recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award, the nation’s top honor for improving patient safety.

 

For the past 27 years, nephrology healthcare professionals from across the country have come to NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings to learn about the newest developments related to all aspects of nephrology practice; network with colleagues; and present their research findings. The NKF Spring Clinical Meetings are designed for meaningful change in the multidisciplinary healthcare teams’ skills, performance, and patient health outcomes. It is the only conference of its kind that focuses on translating science into practice for the entire healthcare team.  This year’s Spring Clinical Meetings will be held May 8-12 in Boston, MA.

 

Healthcare professionals can join NKF to receive access to tools and resources for both patients and professionals, discounts on professional education, and access to a network of thousands of individuals who treat patients with kidney disease.

 

In the United States, 30 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and most aren’t aware of it.  1 in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease.  Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history.  People of African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease.  African Americans are 3 times more likely than Whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to develop end stage renal disease (kidney failure).