Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Current Issue
    • Podcasts
    • Subject Collections
    • Archives
    • ASN Meeting Abstracts
    • Saved Searches
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Resources
    • Reprint Information
  • Trainees
    • Peer Review Program
    • Prize Competition
  • About CJASN
    • About CJASN
    • Editorial Team
    • CJASN Impact
    • CJASN Recognitions
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Advertising
    • Reprint Information
    • Subscriptions
    • Feedback
  • ASN Kidney News
  • Other
    • JASN
    • Kidney360
    • Kidney News Online
    • American Society of Nephrology

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Society of Nephrology
  • Other
    • JASN
    • Kidney360
    • Kidney News Online
    • American Society of Nephrology
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Advertisement
American Society of Nephrology

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Current Issue
    • Podcasts
    • Subject Collections
    • Archives
    • ASN Meeting Abstracts
    • Saved Searches
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Resources
    • Reprint Information
  • Trainees
    • Peer Review Program
    • Prize Competition
  • About CJASN
    • About CJASN
    • Editorial Team
    • CJASN Impact
    • CJASN Recognitions
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Advertising
    • Reprint Information
    • Subscriptions
    • Feedback
  • ASN Kidney News
  • Visit ASN on Facebook
  • Follow CJASN on Twitter
  • CJASN RSS
  • Community Forum
Patient Voice
Open Access

Patients with Kidney Disease: Ready to Use Smartphones for Health Care Delivery?

Lana Schmidt
CJASN January 2021, 16 (1) 1-2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.17771120
Lana Schmidt
National Kidney Patient Advocate and Board of Directors and Ambassador, American Association of Kidney Patients
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • View PDF
Loading
  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic kidney failure
  • kidney failure
  • dialysis
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • smartphone

Introduction

Are patients with kidney disease on dialysis ready to use smartphones to assist with their daily health care? From the perspective of a patient with kidney disease warrior of 18 years, the answer is absolutely yes! Patients with kidney disease are more than ready to implement mobile health into their health care, and they have the ability, intellect, and interest to do so. As a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Kidney Patients, I have seen firsthand their proficiency with technology and smartphones.

Patients with Kidney Disease Need Advanced Technology

Kidney failure is a battle, and patients need every tool available to help them fight and manage this life-threatening disease. Patients with kidney disease are so overdue for advanced technology support that having the use of a smartphone at their fingertips to help monitor their health would make a remarkable difference.

In this issue of CJASN, the study “The Mobile Health Readiness of People Receiving In-Center Hemodialysis and Home Dialysis” aimed to determine if patients on in-center and home dialysis had the readiness to successfully implement mobile health into their health care (1). The conclusion was that “[t]he majority of dialysis patients surveyed were ready for, and proficient in, mobile health” (1).

This is the largest known study assessing the technological readiness of patients on in-center and home dialysis in the United States. Inordinate strengths of the study are the breadth and scope of the patients on dialysis who were surveyed: 949 patients, including English- and Spanish-speaking patients on in-center hemodialysis, home hemodialysis, and peritoneal dialysis. The patients on dialysis were from 21 in-center facilities and 14 home dialysis centers within the three states of California, Texas, and Tennessee (1). The study measured patients’ technological readiness, proficiency, and motivation to utilize mobile health in their everyday health care.

Technological Readiness

The study reports that 81% of patients owned smartphones or other internet-capable devices and that 72% reported using the internet (1). Phones continue to become more sophisticated and easier to manage, with many patients already using their smartphones for over a decade for monitoring their nutrition, using other health apps available, and participating in global conferences with patients and doctors around the world. Some mobile apps will seamlessly integrate the patients’ data into charts and graphs so they can see the comparison from day to day right from their dialysis chairs. If patients cannot measure and monitor their health, it is difficult to manage it and make necessary changes for improvement.

Most patients see their nephrologist only once a month, and that is just not enough for patients to properly manage their kidney health. Mobile health could help support those needs. Having been on dialysis for over 13 years utilizing all of the different modalities, I would have welcomed any kind of mobile phone or medical device to help me in monitoring my health. I led a support group for patients with kidney disease for a few years and found that many patients were at a loss about their health and what was happening to them, how they were doing, and what was to happen next. Ongoing access to their medical information via a smartphone would have eased their anxiety and concerns.

Proficiency

Patients with kidney disease on dialysis have to deal with one of the most daunting patient medical devices, the dialysis machine. Understanding how it works and why is a real education in medical science. So, it is not surprising that the study indicates 98% who used mobile devices could both read and type on their devices. A large proportion, 89% of users, reported not requiring assistance in using the internet, and the majority (70%) reported intermediate or advanced mobile health proficiency (1).

Motivation Readiness

Patients with kidney disease are far more intelligent and capable of adapting to change than many give them credit for—and they aspire to live full lives. With the onslaught of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the chaos it caused in the medical community, the learning curve of patients with kidney disease in the use of mobile devices and internet-savvy programs smoothly accelerated out of necessity.

A concern patients have is the degree of security and privacy involved with using Wi-Fi devices. Still, overall, mobile health–based solutions will help reduce the cost to deliver kidney health care while streamlining information, enhancing care, decreasing travel time, and reducing office visits and hospital admissions.

A New Era

The Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health has been a groundbreaking policy strategy for the health of patients with kidney disease, creating the framework for medical breakthroughs, such as mobile health devices. It will mark the start of an era where we will see the development of more medical devices and technology in the fight against kidney disease.

Releasing mobile health and integrating it into the kidney health care system will empower patients to embrace taking charge of their health. Providing personalized health information to patients will bring a shift in the way the care of patients with kidney disease is delivered. Now is the time for the kidney care team to get on board to implement mobile health in their care of patients with kidney disease.

Disclosures

The author has nothing to disclose.

Funding

None.

Acknowledgments

The content of this article reflects the personal experience and views of the author(s) and should not be considered medical advice or recommendation. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) or CJASN. Responsibility for the information and views expressed herein lies entirely with the author(s).

Footnotes

  • Published online ahead of print. Publication date available at www.cjasn.org.

  • See related article, “The Mobile Health Readiness of People Receiving In-Center Hemodialysis and Home Dialysis,” on pages 98–106.

  • Copyright © 2021 by the American Society of Nephrology

References

  1. ↵
    1. Hussein WF,
    2. Bennett PN,
    3. Pace S,
    4. Chen S,
    5. Legg V,
    6. Atwal J,
    7. Sun S,
    8. Schiller B
    : The mobile health readiness of people receiving in-center hemodialysis and home dialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 16: 98–106, 2021
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: 16 (1)
Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Vol. 16, Issue 1
January 07, 2021
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
View Selected Citations (0)
Print
Download PDF
Sign up for Alerts
Email Article
Thank you for your help in sharing the high-quality science in CJASN.
Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Patients with Kidney Disease: Ready to Use Smartphones for Health Care Delivery?
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Society of Nephrology
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Society of Nephrology web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Patients with Kidney Disease: Ready to Use Smartphones for Health Care Delivery?
Lana Schmidt
CJASN Jan 2021, 16 (1) 1-2; DOI: 10.2215/CJN.17771120

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Patients with Kidney Disease: Ready to Use Smartphones for Health Care Delivery?
Lana Schmidt
CJASN Jan 2021, 16 (1) 1-2; DOI: 10.2215/CJN.17771120
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Introduction
    • Patients with Kidney Disease Need Advanced Technology
    • Technological Readiness
    • Proficiency
    • Motivation Readiness
    • A New Era
    • Disclosures
    • Funding
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • View PDF

More in this TOC Section

  • Fatigue While Undergoing Long-Term Hemodialysis
  • Improving the Evaluation Process for Potential Living Kidney Donor Candidates
Show more Patient Voice

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Similar Articles

Related Articles

  • The Mobile Health Readiness of People Receiving In-Center Hemodialysis and Home Dialysis
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Keywords

  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic kidney failure
  • kidney failure
  • dialysis
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • smartphone

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Early Access
  • Subject Collections
  • Article Archive
  • ASN Meeting Abstracts

Information for Authors

  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Trainee of the Year
  • Author Resources
  • ASN Journal Policies
  • Reuse/Reprint Policy

About

  • CJASN
  • ASN
  • ASN Journals
  • ASN Kidney News

Journal Information

  • About CJASN
  • CJASN Email Alerts
  • CJASN Key Impact Information
  • CJASN Podcasts
  • CJASN RSS Feeds
  • Editorial Board

More Information

  • Advertise
  • ASN Podcasts
  • ASN Publications
  • Become an ASN Member
  • Feedback
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Password/Email Address Changes
  • Subscribe

© 2021 American Society of Nephrology

Print ISSN - 1555-9041 Online ISSN - 1555-905X

Powered by HighWire