National Kidney Month 2026
Find kidney risk earlier, close testing gaps, protect kidney function, and coordinate each transition before crisis.
Most kidney disease is found too late.
Chronic kidney disease is one of the most common conditions health systems manage and one of the least visible. CDC estimates that more than 1 in 10 U.S. adults, about 14% or 37 million people, have chronic kidney disease. CDC also reports that about 9 in 10 adults with CKD do not know they have it. For many patients, the first clear signal arrives at an advanced stage.
The people at highest risk are already in the system. CDC estimates that about 38% of adults with diabetes and about 21% of adults with high blood pressure have CKD, and the National Kidney Foundation identifies diabetes and high blood pressure as the top causes of kidney disease. These patients see primary care, endocrinology, and cardiology regularly, which makes missed kidney risk an organizational gap rather than an access problem alone.
Detection depends on two routine tests. The National Kidney Foundation describes eGFR as a blood test that shows how well the kidneys filter waste and uACR as a urine test that checks how much albumin is leaking into the urine. Because kidney disease often has no early symptoms, NKF calls these tests the best way to prevent or catch kidney problems early. Many at-risk patients receive one test without the other.
Finding kidney disease is only useful if the result changes care. Protecting kidney function requires that abnormal results are acknowledged, explained to the patient, and linked to a management plan for blood pressure, glucose, and medications, with nephrology involvement where appropriate. Without clear ownership, abnormal results sit in the record while function declines.
The costliest failures happen at transitions. Patients who progress toward kidney failure need time to learn about their options, including transplant evaluation, home or in-center dialysis, and conservative care, and to prepare. When that planning does not happen, the first dialysis session may start in an emergency department. National Kidney Month 2026 is a prompt to find risk earlier and coordinate each step before crisis.
Measure the share of patients with diabetes or hypertension who had both an eGFR and a uACR in the past year, name an owner for the gap, and report it quarterly.
CDC estimates that more than 1 in 10 U.S. adults (14%, about 37 million people) have chronic kidney disease.
CDC reports that about 9 in 10 (87%) adults with CKD do not know they have it.
CDC estimates that about 4 in 10 (38%) adults with diabetes have chronic kidney disease.
Figures are summarized from the authoritative sources linked below. Definitions and denominators should be read with each source.
The route from risk to protected kidney function
Four steps move kidney care upstream of crisis.
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Find risk earlier
Identify patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other recognized risk factors across primary and specialty care.
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Close testing gaps
Make sure at-risk patients receive both an eGFR and a urine albumin-creatinine ratio, not one without the other.
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Protect kidney function
Link abnormal results to a documented management plan with a named clinician and nephrology input where indicated.
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Coordinate transitions
Start kidney replacement and transplant education and planning well before kidney failure, so choices are made in advance.
Reliability rule: No abnormal eGFR or uACR result is closed in the record without a documented acknowledgment, patient communication, and next step.
What leaders should watch
Four instruments show whether kidney risk is being found and acted on.
Paired testing
Track whether at-risk patients receive both kidney tests.
Result follow-through
See whether abnormal results lead to a documented plan.
Recorded diagnosis
Check that patients who meet local CKD criteria have the condition recorded so teams can see it.
Planned starts
Monitor whether dialysis begins as a planned transition rather than an emergency.
Handoffs that move before crisis
Kidney care fails when information stops at the boundary between teams.
From primary care to nephrology
- Send trends in eGFR and uACR, blood pressure, and glucose control.
- State the question for nephrology and the patient’s priorities.
- Name who owns follow-up while the referral is pending.
From nephrology back to primary care
- Send the management plan and medication recommendations.
- Specify monitoring intervals and results that should prompt earlier review.
- Confirm which clinician owns each part of the plan.
From advanced CKD to kidney replacement planning
- Offer education on transplant, dialysis options, and conservative care.
- Coordinate referrals for transplant evaluation and access planning where chosen.
- Share the patient’s documented choices with hospital and dialysis teams.
A handoff is complete when the receiving clinician confirms the plan and ownership, not when a referral is sent.
A quarterly scorecard for kidney health
Four questions keep leadership attention on detection, follow-through, coordination, and equity.
| Signal | Executive question | Accountable owner | Review cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection | Are at-risk patients receiving both eGFR and uACR testing? | Primary care and population health leaders | Quarterly |
| Follow-through | Are abnormal results acknowledged and linked to a plan? | Primary care, nephrology, and informatics leaders | Monthly |
| Transitions | Are patients approaching kidney failure educated and prepared before they need replacement therapy? | Nephrology and transplant leaders | Quarterly |
| Equity | Do testing and follow-through rates differ by race and ethnicity, language, payer, or geography? | Health equity and quality leaders | Quarterly |
A 90-day plan
Use National Kidney Month to start one improvement cycle that finds risk earlier.
Start with the patients already in your panels who have diabetes or high blood pressure. Measure the testing gap before designing outreach. Fix result follow-through and ownership before adding new programs. Report progress to executive leadership alongside the equity breakdown.
Days 1–30: See the gap
- Identify patients with diabetes or hypertension across primary and specialty care.
- Measure the share with both eGFR and uACR in the past year.
- Map how abnormal results are routed and acknowledged today.
Days 31–60: Build the structure
- Adopt standing orders or order-set defaults for paired kidney testing where local clinical leaders agree.
- Assign ownership and a follow-up standard for abnormal results.
- Agree on referral expectations with nephrology and transplant teams.
Days 61–90: Sustain and report
- Review measures with primary care, nephrology, and quality leaders.
- Stratify results by race and ethnicity, language, payer, and geography and assign owners for gaps.
- Publish a short progress summary to executive leadership.
Kidney protection starts with a test that was ordered.
National Kidney Month is a reminder that most kidney disease is silent and most at-risk patients are already in our care. Finding it earlier is an operating commitment, not only a message.
Turn National Kidney Month into accountable action.
Find kidney risk earlier, close testing gaps, protect kidney function, and coordinate each transition before crisis.
Leadership focus
Find kidney risk earlier, close eGFR and urine albumin-creatinine ratio testing gaps, protect kidney function, and coordinate transitions before crisis.
Workforce lens
Equip primary care, endocrinology, and cardiology teams to order paired kidney testing and act on abnormal results.
Patient and community lens
Help patients with diabetes or high blood pressure understand their kidney test results and what happens next.
Equity and access lens
Review testing, follow-through, and planned dialysis starts by race and ethnicity, language, payer, and geography, and act on the gaps.
Inspect the operating sequence
Most adults with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it, and the patients at highest risk are already in our panels. This quarter we will measure and close the paired testing gap for patients with diabetes or hypertension.
- 01Find risk earlier
- 02Close testing gaps
- 03Protect kidney function
- 04Coordinate transitions
Leadership actions for this week
- Name an executive sponsor and frontline operating owner.
- Ask people using and operating the pathway where ownership becomes unclear.
- Test one representative route from first question to acknowledged next step.
- Select one barrier that can be corrected without overstating the evidence.
- Set a review date and define how completion will be verified.
Candidate measures
Define every numerator, denominator where relevant, owner, data source, exclusions, cadence, and limitation locally. These are management prompts, not external benchmarks.
- Share of patients with diabetes or hypertension with both an eGFR and a uACR in the past 12 months
- Share of abnormal eGFR or uACR results with a documented follow-up plan within 30 days
- Share of patients meeting local CKD criteria with CKD documented on the problem list
Department readiness checklist
- The public and staff entry points match the actual approved process.
- A specific role accepts each request, referral, or escalation.
- Handoffs include acknowledgment and a visible unresolved state.
- Language, disability, digital, transportation, and trust barriers receive explicit review.
- Communications do not introduce unsupported themes, statistics, or clinical advice.
- A named leader will review what changed after the observance.
Intended audiences
- Executive and Operational Leaders
- Patient Experience and Access Leaders
Staff communication template
During National Kidney Month, our organization will review how we test and follow up on kidney health for patients with diabetes and high blood pressure. Please make sure at-risk patients have both an eGFR and a uACR and that abnormal results have a documented next step.
Community communication template
March is National Kidney Month. If you live with diabetes or high blood pressure, ask your care team about your kidney health and the tests that check it.
Measurement worksheet
- Signal
- What observable condition will show whether the route works?
- Definition
- What is included, excluded, and counted?
- Owner
- Who reviews the signal and acts on exceptions?
- Cadence
- When will leaders review it?
- Equity check
- Which differences require protected, locally appropriate review?
- Closure
- What evidence will confirm the improvement was completed?
Authoritative resources
- Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Kidney Month 2026: Small Kidney Tips That Can Make a Big Difference, National Kidney Foundation
- National Kidney Month, National Kidney Foundation
- National Kidney Month, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH
Verification note: The National Kidney Foundation’s March 2026 article confirms National Kidney Month in March 2026, and NIDDK describes March as National Kidney Month; neither page states an official 2026 theme, so the focus above is The Healthcare Executive’s framing.