Nephrology is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function and kidney disease, the preservation of kidney health, and the treatment of kidney disease, from diet and medication to renal replacement therapy. The word "renal" is an adjective meaning "relating to the kidneys", and its roots are French or late Latin. Whereas according to some opinions, "renal" and "nephro" should be replaced with "kidney" in scientific writings such as "kidney medicine" or "kidney replacement therapy", other experts have advocated preserving the use of renal and nephro as appropriate including in "nephrology" and "renal replacement therapy", respectively.
Kidney dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions naturally. This is referred to as renal replacement therapy. The first successful dialysis was performed in 1943.
Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as either acute kidney failure, which develops rapidly and may resolve; and chronic kidney failure, which develops slowly and can often be irreversible. Symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vomiting, loss of appetite, and confusion. Complications of acute and chronic failure include uremia, hyperkalaemia, and volume overload. Complications of chronic failure also include heart disease, high blood pressure, and anaemia.
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is a German healthcare company which provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 4,171 outpatient dialysis centers, serving 345,425 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires patients to undergo dialysis 3 times per week for the rest of their lives.
Netcare Limited is a South African private healthcare company. It operates through a number of subsidiaries and employs just over 21 000 people.
Northwest Kidney Centers is a regional, not-for-profit community-based provider of kidney dialysis, public health education, and research into the causes and treatments of chronic kidney disease. Established in Seattle in 1962, it was the world's first out-of-hospital dialysis provider. It offers dialysis throughout the greater Seattle area in 20 free-standing clinics, eight hospitals and its home dialysis program. It opened its first clinic in Everett in 2020, the organization's first in Snohomish county.
Robert Provenzano is an American nephrologist. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
McLaren Flint is a nonprofit, 378 bed tertiary teaching hospital located in Flint, Michigan. McLaren is affiliated with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine's medical residency programs, including family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery and radiology. McLaren also maintains a hematology/oncology fellowship program in partnership with Michigan State University and is sponsoring a surgical oncology fellowship program. McLaren Flint is a subsidiary of McLaren Health Care Corporation.
The Rogosin Institute is an independent, not-for-profit treatment and research center with facilities throughout New York City that treat patients with kidney disease, including dialysis and kidney transplantation; lipid disorders; and hypertension. It is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and is a leader in research programs for cancer and diabetes.
Dialysis Clinic, Inc. is a nonprofit medical corporation founded in 1971 and chartered as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.
Nathan W. Levin is an American physician and founder of the Renal Research Institute, LLC., a research institute dedicated to improving the outcomes of patients with kidney disease, particularly those requiring dialysis. Levin is one of the most prominent and renowned figures in clinical nephrology as well as nephrology research. He has authored multiple book chapters and over 350 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in leading journals such as Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine, and The Lancet.
The Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) is a dialysis & kidney transplant centre located in Pakistan. SIUT was founded by Dr. Adibul Hasan Rizvi and it is Pakistan's largest kidney disease center, as well as Pakistan's largest public sector health organisation. It began as a department of urology at the government-run Civil Hospital in 1970 and became autonomous in 1991. Ten to twelve transplants are performed weekly, and in 2003, doctors at SIUT performed Pakistan's first liver transplant. In 2004, a child care unit was opened.
The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is a tertiary referral hospital located in Central, Quezon City, Philippines. The hospital opened on January 16, 1981.
Symptom targeted intervention (STI) is a clinical program being used in medical settings to help patients who struggle with symptoms of depression or anxiety or adherence to treatment plans but who are not interested in receiving outpatient mental health treatment. STI is an individualized therapeutic model and clinical program that teaches patients brief, effective ways to cope with difficult thoughts, feelings, and behaviors using evidence-based interventions. Its individualized engagement process employs techniques from solution-focused therapy, using a Rogerian, patient-centered philosophy. This engagement process ensures that even challenging, at-risk, and non-adherent patients are able to participate.
DaVita Inc. provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 2,816 outpatient dialysis centers in the United States, serving 204,200 patients, and 321 outpatient dialysis centers in 10 other countries serving 3,200 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires patients to undergo dialysis 3 times per week for the rest of their lives unless they receive a donor kidney. The company has a 37% market share in the U.S. dialysis market. It is organized in Delaware and based in Denver.
Professor David Wayne Johnson is an Australian nephrologist known for kidney treatments and transplants in Australia. In 2009 he was a Queensland State Finalist for Australian of the Year, for his work in the early recognition and care of people with chronic kidney disease and specifically for his work in detection of chronic kidney disease.
Bernard Salick is an American nephrologist and medical entrepreneur known for his contributions to comprehensive disease-state management and his efforts to reduce the costs of cancer treatment. He is the founder and former CEO and chairman of Salick Health Care, a national disease management company in the United States. While leading the company, Salick created a managed care subsidiary, the first to offer fixed-price insurance products for the treatment of catastrophic diseases such as cancer and end-stage renal disease.
Diaverum is a Swedish multinational healthcare organisation that provides life-enhancing renal care to patients with chronic kidney disease. The company has over 440 clinics in 23 countries, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
Harry R. Jacobson is an American physician executive and entrepreneur who served as the vice chancellor for health affairs and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 1997 to 2009.