Reporting of kidney function measurement linked with increase in visits to specialists

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 16:28 in Health & Medicine

With a concern that the automatic reporting of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR; the flow rate of filtered fluid through the kidney, which is used to define the stage and severity of chronic kidney disease) may result in unnecessary referrals by physicians, new research indicates that automated laboratory reporting was associated with a significant increase in first-time visits to a kidney specialist, particularly among those at increased risk of late detection of kidney disease (such as older or female patients), according to a study in the March 24/31 issue of JAMA.

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