Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP

CKD Guidelines and Adherence Across Specialties

CKD Guidelines and Adherence Across Specialties,’ the panelists explore the following questions:

What are the differences between the current guideline (ie, NKF, KDIGO 2025, ADA) recommendations for CKD diagnosis and staging in clinical practice?

How are these guidelines applied in practice across specialists such as primary care, nephrology, cardiology, and endocrinology?

Can you comment on guideline adherence across primary care and specialties including nephrologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists?

How can guideline adherence be elevated in clinical practice to improve CKD care?


The panelists examine how clinicians can navigate the many overlapping guidelines related to diagnosing chronic kidney disease (CKD), emphasizing that there is strong consistency rather than contradiction across professional societies. They highlight that the KDIGO framework—integrating eGFR and albuminuria (uACR) in a heat map staging system—is broadly endorsed across cardiology, endocrinology, diabetes, and hypertension guidelines and provides critical insight into both kidney and cardiovascular risk. Despite this consensus, the panel underscores a major gap between guidelines and real-world practice, noting that only a minority of eligible patients currently receive recommended CKD screening. The discussion concludes with practical strategies to improve diagnosis at scale, including clinician education on uACR, leveraging EHR and AI tools, shared accountability across specialties, and a proactive, public health–focused approach to preventing progression to end-stage kidney disease.

The next episode in this series, ‘Quality of Life Impact of Delayed CKD Diagnosis,’ features the panelists advancing their conversation on chronic kidney disease and focusing on how early detection provides a modifiable opportunity to deploy risk-mitigating therapies before patients face the profound emotional, physical, and mortality risks associated with dialysis and end-stage disease. The experts emphasize that treating CKD early not only preserves kidney function but acts as a critical multiplier for reducing systemic cardiovascular complications and improving long-term quality of life.

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Experts explain how uACR and eGFR testing reveals hidden CKD, links to heart risk, and guides early, patient-centered care.

Addressing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Prevalence and Patient Awareness in Cardiorenal Metabolic Care

Welcome back to another HCPLive Peer Exchange series. In this episode titled, ‘Addressing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Prevalence and Patient Awareness in Cardiorenal Metabolic Care’, the moderator, Dr. Muthiah Vaduganathan, leads the conversation about the following questions:

How prevalent is chronic kidney disease (CKD) in your patient population, and which comorbidities most commonly coexist at the time of presentation?

How do you communicate with patients who have type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease and are often unaware of CKD as a comorbidity, and how do you improve their understanding of the associated risks?

Panelists, Dr. Nihar Desai, Dr. Pamela Kushner, and Dr. Craig Beavers, highlight that CKD prevalence in high-risk populations—particularly those with overlapping diabetes, hypertension, and obesity—can reach as high as 20% to 40%, far exceeding the national average. The experts emphasize the "silent" nature of the disease, noting a significant gap between clinical diagnosis and patient awareness, which often leads to emotional distress when the condition is finally disclosed. To improve literacy and empower patients, the speakers advocate for an integrated Cardiorenal Metabolic framework, using proactive testing (such as uACR and eGFR) and gentle, transparent communication to link kidney health directly to cardiovascular outcomes. Finally, they underscore that formalizing a CKD diagnosis is not only vital for individual treatment escalation but also critical for informing public policy and securing community health resources.

In the next episode, ‘CKD Guidelines and Adherence Across Specialties’, panelists will continue their discussion on chronic kidney disease and highlight that while clinical guidelines are remarkably consistent in advocating for the KDIGO "heat map" and combined eGFR/uACR testing, a significant implementation gap remains with only 20% of high-risk patients being properly screened. They argue for a unified "cardiorenal metabolic" ownership model that leverages EHR tools and simplified patient analogies to bridge this gap and prioritize proactive, guideline-directed care.

Learn how uACR and eGFR uncover hidden CKD, sharpen cardiovascular risk, and guide patient-friendly conversations for earlier, smarter care.

Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP

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