December 7, 2011 (Burlington, VT) -- Patient Engagement Systems (PES), a health-care technology company that provides solutions for improving primary care and reducing costs for people with chronic diseases, today introduced the Chronic Kidney Patient Engagement System (CKPES). The announcement was made at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 23rd Annual Forum on Quality Improvement. CKPES helps primary care providers identify patients at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), manage treatments to recommended guidelines, and reduce avoidable costs and inconsistencies in patient care.
CKPES increases communication between patients and their healthcare providers, supports physician decision making through advanced analytics, and promotes provider interaction through a distributed web-based solution. "It is difficult for providers to recognize early-stage CKD without the right analytical support, yet early identification and intervention are essential to slowing disease progression, maintaining quality of life, and improving outcomes. CKPES automatically identifies and stages CKD, giving primary care providers a decision-support tool to help them effectively manage patient care, and bring patients into the care dialogue through targeted personalized content," explains Stanley Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer for Patient Engagement Systems.
Goldstein notes that managing CKD to recommend treatment guidelines requires more time than primary care physicians have available in their busy schedules. The decision support embedded within the CKPES solution functionalizes the National Kidney Foundation's KDOQI guidelines so providers can better leverage their time and improve efficiency within their practice yet still adhere to recommended guidelines.
"The primary goal of CKD treatment is to catch the disease early and slow its progression. By implementing CKPES, physicians can automate several processes at once, ensure that guidelines are implemented, monitor disease progression, and share focused patient care information with specialists," adds Ben Littenberg, MD, Chief Medical Officer for PES. "Furthermore, the CKPES module works seamlessly with PES' diabetes module to effectively manage the majority of the chronic population that has both diabetes and kidney disease."
PES technology is the only chronic care management and patient engagement platform that has shown effectiveness in NIH funded studies. The NIH funded research in diabetes demonstrated average cost savings per chronic patient of more than $2,400 per year using the PES technology. The company expects savings in CKD to be at least as much.
PES' diabetes module, the Diabetes Patient Engagement System (DPES) was recently awarded the URAC Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Bronze Award for 2011.