KDIGO sets priorities for technology to close the kidney care gap

A KDIGO Controversies Conference held in November 2025, reported in Kidney International on 8 October, examined how technology could improve guideline-based care for people with or at risk of kidney disease. It is an expert consensus report, not a study of outcomes.

The starting point is familiar: detection and guideline-directed treatment of chronic kidney disease remain poor worldwide. The conference highlighted technologies for earlier identification, risk prediction, prompting guideline therapy and supporting self-management, and the patient, clinician, system and policy factors that decide whether they work. Research priorities included living guidelines, integrating recommendations into decision support, evidence that digital tools reduce rather than widen disparities, interoperability between systems, and proper health technology assessment.

For most clinics, the practical version is simple: automatic eGFR reporting, an albuminuria prompt in people with diabetes or hypertension, and a reminder for SGLT2 inhibitor and RAS blockade where indicated.

• Make sure the laboratory reports eGFR automatically with every creatinine.
• Build prompts for urine albumin–creatinine ratio testing in people with diabetes or hypertension.
• Audit how many patients with CKD and albuminuria are on RAS blockade and an SGLT2 inhibitor.
• Judge any digital tool by whether it changes treatment, not by whether it flags risk.

Why it matters

Most CKD harm comes from under-detection and under-treatment, which simple system-level prompts can address.

Don't overread it

A consensus report of research priorities; it does not show that any digital tool improves kidney outcomes.

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