Advancing Kidney Health through Optimal Medication Management (AKHOMM)
The Advancing Kidney Health through Optimal Medication Management (AKHOMM) is a national interprofessional initiative dedicated to delivering Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) to individuals living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Embodying the spirit of the Pinnacle Team Award, AKHOMM helps healthcare teams overcome implementation barriers and optimize guideline-directed medication therapies (GDMT) through two innovative avenues: Interprofessional CE Curriculum: Since 2022, AKHOMM has deployed 29 bite-sized (30–45 minute), mobile-friendly continuing education modules for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, and social workers. Topics focus on eGFR assessment, GDMT initiation and maintenance, pharmacoequity, and symptom management. Learning and Action Collaborative (LAC): To translate education into scalable practice, the inaugural 16-month LAC supported seven diverse U.S. healthcare teams in building CMM-based medication management services. These teams demonstrated high implementation fidelity and benchmark success, which are now being shared through national and regional presentations, publications, and social media.
To ensure broad, lasting reach, AKHOMM built strategic partnerships and/or collaborations with key organizations, including the National Kidney Foundation, American Association of Kidney Patients, Renal Physicians Association, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and leading pharmacy associations (APhA, ASHP, ACCP). Most importantly, AKHOMM places individuals with CKD and CKM at the center of its mission by incorporating patient voices into our CE modules, integrating patient advocates and care partners directly into research teams, and appointing patients to our curriculum advisory and review boards. The bottom-line is that the AKHOMM interprofessional curriculum, AKHOMM LAC and a research component that runs alongside form a powerful trifecta to support healthcare teams in providing pharmacist-led CMM services, including initiation and maintenance of GDMT therapies in persons with CKD and CKM. AKHOMM leaders hope that this Pinnacle award will inspire others to use AKHOMM (www.KidneyMedicationManagement.org) as a resource for implementing practice transformation to improve medication management in persons with kidney diseases.
"To everyone who wrote letters of support and to our partner organizations and sponsors—thank you for believing in our mission! To the APhA Foundation—thank you for honoring us with the Pinnacle Team Award!"