DaVita Medical Insights

Receiving the influenza vaccine has always been important for patients with kidney disease, but the COVID-19 pandemic makes influenza vaccinations even more crucial now. Listen to this podcast, in which Mandy Tilton, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, CNN, chief nursing officer for DaVita Kidney Care interviews Jeffrey Giullian, MD MBA, FASN, chief medical officer for DaVita on why influenza vaccination is so crucial and whom he recommends be vacc...

According to Leslie Wong, MD, chief medical officer for the Nephrology Care Alliance (NCA) and practicing nephrologist at the Cleveland Clinic, during the pandemic, “…It's really incumbent upon us to stay united as health care providers. Remain positive, not just for each other, but for our patients, and make sure that we also help and celebrate when things go right.” Listen to this podcast, in which Sarah Carpenter interviews ...

“I would just really encourage folks to get upstream and get your patients the information early in their disease state, so that they can be more involved in their care and make good decisions for themselves,” says Josh Lowentritt, MD, a New Orleans nephrologist in private practice. Listen to this podcast, in which Martha Wofford, group vice president of DaVita Kidney Care, interviews Dr. Lowentritt on the importance of patient edu...

“If self-care was important before the pandemic, it has become almost essential in everybody's life today,” says Usha Peri, MD, who is a DaVita medical council member and a SKY breath meditation instructor for the Art of Living Foundation. Listen to this podcast, in which Ryan Weir interviews Dr. Peri on self-care, with a focus on self-care for clinicians and during the pandemic. Dr. Peri discusses what burnout is and how to co...

With the increased use of technology, such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall shift to electronic health records and predictive analytics in health care in recent years, caring for patients from an individual, human perspective, rather than from a numbers or data perspective, is becoming more important. How can patient-centered care have an impact on patients who have chronic c...

With the increased use of technology, such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall shift to electronic health records and predictive analytics in health care in recent years, caring for patients from an individual, human perspective, rather than from a numbers or data perspective, is becoming more important. How can patient-centered care have an impact on patients who have chronic c...

Innovations in nephrology are taking place as the importance of kidney health is emphasized globally. Listen to this podcast, to hear how kidney care is transforming around the world, with insights from clinicians who share a passion for innovation: Jeffrey Giullian, MD, chief medical officer for DaVita Kidney Care; Janet Cowperthwaite, director of clinical operations for DaVita International; Sam Kant, MD, nephrology fellow at Joh...

Jeffrey Giullian, MD, is passionate about his new—as of Jan. 1, 2020—role as chief medical officer (CMO) for DaVita Kidney Care. Listen to this podcast, in which Halie Peddle interviews Dr. Giullian on his priorities and vision as CMO for DaVita. He gives us some personal background on why he pursued a career as a physician, specifically in the field of nephrology, and what originally brought him to DaVita. Dr. Giullian also discus...

Successful use of predictive analytics gives us the ability to minimize unwanted future events and maximize future health without unnecessary expenditure of resources, according to Vice President and Medical Director of DaVita Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Steven Brunelli, MD. Listen to this podcast, in which Ryan Weir interviews Dr. Brunelli on predictive analytics. Dr. Brunelli discusses why predictive analytics are so ...

According to Mandy Hale, vice president of nursing for DaVita, “It's really important for us as dialysis organizations to be very innovative and very laser focused on retaining our nurses, engaging them and attracting more nurses to the field of dialysis and nephrology.” Listen to this podcast, in which Christy Diehl, senior director in People Services for DaVita, interviews Mandy on why it is important to retain nephrology nur...

“Competency is a critical factor in every practice as health care in America shifts from what we have understood historically as a volume-based approach to delivery, to now a value-based delivery system,” says Martin Schreiber, MD, chief medical officer of home modalities for DaVita Kidney Care. Listen to this podcast, in which Ashley Henson interviews Dr. Schreiber on what competency hubs are and why they are important within neph...

Preemptive transplant is the best option for the vast majority of patients with ESKD; however, innovation is needed to keep up with the demand for kidneys. Listen to this podcast, in which Allen Nissenson, MD, chief medical officer of DaVita and emeritus professor of Medicine at UCLA along with Gabriel Danovitch, MD, medical director of the Kidney Transplant Program and professor of medicine at UCLA discuss the current state of kid...

Patients with ESRD who start on home dialysis have improved outcomes and enjoy a better quality of life compared with patients who start with in-center hemodialysis. Listen to this podcast, in which Ashley Henson interviews Jose Sibal, MD, on the patient benefits of starting at home and the factors that helped his home dialysis program to grow exponentially. Dr. Sibal also discusses the biggest obstacle to success in developing a h...

Hurricane season generally begins June 1 and lasts through November 30; the damage from hurricanes can affect an entire community. In 2017, the flood waters from Hurricane Harvey paralyzed the entire infrastructure of the city of Houston, Texas, causing many dialysis units to close. However, a DaVita center not only remained open but became a major response center for the area, treating many patients who had not dialyzed for sever...

Implementation science is the application of research findings and evidence-based interventions to routine clinical practice; it is an important part of innovation in health care. Listen to this podcast, in which Hunter Barnett interviews Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, FASN, more in depth on what implementation science is and the successes that have been seen in implantation science for the kidney care community. They also discuss ...

Although social media has traditionally been viewed by some as a way to personally advance oneself, now it is being used in a more academic way to advance medical education. Listen to this podcast, in which Bob Provenzano, MD, chief medical officer for Nephrology Practice Solutions and vice president of medical affairs for DaVita Kidney Care interviews Samira Farouk, MD, transplant nephrologist and social media enthusiast on how ...