Medical communities are focusing on early intervention strategies to prevent and treat kidney disease as Taiwan has one of the highest rates of dialysis globally.
Taiwan has had high rates of liver and kidney disease for a long time, but thanks to government initiatives over the past three to four years, it has already achieved the WHO’s 2030 target for eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat.
Preventing and treating chronic kidney disease requires the same level of commitment, said Sung Chun-ming (宋俊明), deputy director of National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine.
Photo courtesy of Ho Hao-chung
There are multiple medications available that can help stabilize the disease and reduce the risk of progressing to dialysis, Sung said.
Early-stage kidney disease often has no clear symptoms, but if it is not tracked and managed early, it might quietly progress toward end-stage kidney failure, a source said.
The key to preventing and treating kidney disease is not only screenings, but integrating patients into primary care systems for tracking and management, the source said.
Kidney abnormalities can be detected early through health examinations provided by the Health Promotion Administration, but the key to prevention lies in tracking and management after the initial screening, said Chiu Yi-wen (邱怡文), director of Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine.
Policies implemented by the National Health Insurance Administration and five major medical associations to shift kidney disease treatment earlier are promising, but real results require a fully developed implementation system, Sung said.
Kidney disease prevention and treatment require a national level strategy, and a dedicated office to coordinate budget and resources, and set clear goals, he said.
In addition, case managers should be added to health education programs to keep patients on track and further align treatment with international standards, he added.
Taiwan’s kidney disease prevalence is similar to the global rate, about 10 to 12 percent, meaning roughly 2 million adults have the condition, with about 10,000 new dialysis patients each year, Chiu said.
Taiwan has the world’s highest dialysis rate, with more than 500 new patients per 1 million annually compared with about 100 per million in some northern European countries, underscoring the need for early screening and intervention, he said.
Each dialysis patient costs Taiwan about NT$650,000 per year and expenses rise even higher when patients have multiple conditions, he added.
By managing kidney disease early to delay the need for dialysis, costs would steadily decrease and people could live more healthy years, Chiu said.
Encouraging primary care providers to join care programs, adjusting enrollment criteria or processes and helping clinics build digital care management systems are key to enrolling more patients into care programs earlier, he said.
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