Multiple Chronic Conditions https://multiplechronicconditions.org/ FREE resources to educate, update and promote best practices that ensure optimal patient-centered outcomes. Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:40:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mcc-icon-150x150.png Multiple Chronic Conditions https://multiplechronicconditions.org/ 32 32 Opioids: Follow the evidence https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/opioids-follow-the-evidence/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:40:08 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4242 To ensure safety and effective care, nurses must maintain their knowledge and understanding of opioid pharmacologic properties and best practices when caring for patients with acute and chronic non-cancer pain.

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]]> To ensure safety and effective care, nurses must maintain their knowledge and understanding of opioid pharmacologic properties and best practices when caring for patients with acute and chronic non-cancer pain.

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]]> Benzodiazepines https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/benzodiazepines/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:39:33 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4240 Providers prescribe benzodiazepines (BZDs)—also known as anxiolytics, hypnotics, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, and amnestic medications—to manage several symptoms and conditions, including anxiety, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, sedation, muscle spasms, agitation, and seizures.

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]]> Providers prescribe benzodiazepines (BZDs)—also known as anxiolytics, hypnotics, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, and amnestic medications—to manage several symptoms and conditions, including anxiety, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, sedation, muscle spasms, agitation, and seizures.

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]]> Anticholinergics: Adverse effects https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/anticholinergics-adverse-effects/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:39:02 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4238 Anticholinergics, widely used in clinical practice for an extensive range of diseases, exert effects on circulation, respiration, alertness, and vision by blocking the action of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) within the choli­nergic sys­tem.

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]]> Anticholinergics, widely used in clinical practice for an extensive range of diseases, exert effects on circulation, respiration, alertness, and vision by blocking the action of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) within the choli­nergic sys­tem.

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]]> The nurse’s role in medication safety https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/the-nurses-role-in-medication-safety/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:38:27 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4236 Patients have long associated trust and respect with nursing. However, recent incidents of nurses delivering inappropriate medications (wrong drug, wrong dose) have led to catastrophic consequences.

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]]> Patients have long associated trust and respect with nursing. However, recent incidents of nurses delivering inappropriate medications (wrong drug, wrong dose) have led to catastrophic consequences.

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]]> Medication safety https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/medication-safety/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:37:30 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4234 Your knowledge of the fundamentals can prevent harm. In a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blog, Nahum reports that, globally, more people die from medical errors or other healthcare quality and safety issues than from lack of access.

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]]> Your knowledge of the fundamentals can prevent harm. In a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blog, Nahum reports that, globally, more people die from medical errors or other healthcare quality and safety issues than from lack of access.

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]]> NSAIDs: The difference between COX-1 and COX-2 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/medication-safety/nsaids-the-difference-between-cox-1-and-cox-2/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:36:33 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4232

Hessami and colleagues predicted an escalation in individuals using NSAIDs in 2025 due to the increase in an older population at risk for multiple chronic conditions. The ubiquity of NSAIDs requires that nurses fully understand the differences among them, their indications for use, and the associated risks in patients with concomitant underlying conditions.

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Hessami and colleagues predicted an escalation in individuals using NSAIDs in 2025 due to the increase in an older population at risk for multiple chronic conditions. The ubiquity of NSAIDs requires that nurses fully understand the differences among them, their indications for use, and the associated risks in patients with concomitant underlying conditions.

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]]> 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines https://multiplechronicconditions.org/healthcare-professionals/2026-aha-acc-ada-asn-guideline-for-the-prevention-detection-evaluation-and-management-of-cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic-syndrome-a-report-of-the-american-college-of-cardiology-american-heart-asso/ Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:36:26 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4220 The “2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome” retires, replaces, and expands upon the “2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.” The primary intended audience for this guideline is clinicians who care for patients across the spectrum of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, an interrelated condition characterized...

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]]> The “2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome” retires, replaces, and expands upon the “2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.” The primary intended audience for this guideline is clinicians who care for patients across the spectrum of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, an interrelated condition characterized by the interconnections among metabolic risk factors (including obesity and type 2 diabetes), chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.

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]]> The Gene You Have Never Heard Of Is Driving Kidney Failure in Black Communities https://multiplechronicconditions.org/blog/the-gene-you-have-never-heard-of-is-driving-kidney-failure-in-black-communities/ Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:44:30 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4217 By: Richard Knight, Vice President & Co-Founder, APOL1 Action Alliance In 2010, researchers identified two variants of the APOL1 gene that create a three-to-five-times greater risk of kidney failure in people of African descent (Genovese et al., 2010). Sixteen years later, most patients who carry these variants are unaware. Neither do many of the clinicians...

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]]> By: Richard Knight, Vice President & Co-Founder, APOL1 Action Alliance

In 2010, researchers identified two variants of the APOL1 gene that create a three-to-five-times greater risk of kidney failure in people of African descent (Genovese et al., 2010). Sixteen years later, most patients who carry these variants are unaware. Neither do many of the clinicians treating them. African Americans represent 13% of the U.S. population but account for 32% of patients on dialysis (Kidney Health Initiative, 2024). About half carry at least one APOL1 variant. Thirteen percent carry two of the variants, placing them in the high-risk category (Nadkarni et al., 2018). These patients often present with proteinuria, rapid eGFR decline, and kidney failure at a mean age of 45, arriving at dialysis nine to twelve years earlier than their non-APOL1 counterparts (Freedman et al., 2021). Many patients are asymptomatic until the damage is advanced.

That gap between discovery and awareness is the reason I co-founded the APOL1 Action Alliance with Sharron Rouse, herself a kidney disease, dialysis, and transplant survivor. As a long-term transplant recipient living with multiple chronic conditions, I know both sides of this issue. AAA is the first nonprofit dedicated exclusively to APOL1-mediated kidney disease, bringing together genetic education, testing access, patient advocacy, and connection to precision medicine therapies now in clinical development. Our Know Your Risk campaign is taking APOL1 education into barbershops, churches, HBCUs, and nursing chapters across the Washington, D.C. region. APOL1 genetic testing is available through several clinical and laboratory partners, and in some instances may be provided at no cost.

On June 27, 2026, AAA will hold its inaugural APOL1 Empowerment Summit at the College Park Marriott in Hyattsville, Maryland, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, with a hybrid option for virtual attendees. Register at apol1alliance.org/events. Admission is free. Your patients need you to know about APOL1. Some of them are sitting in your waiting room right now.
 

References

Freedman, B. I., Moxey-Mims, M. M., Alexander, A. A., Astor, B. C., Birdwell, K. A., Bowden, D. W., Bowen, G., Bromberg, J., Colhoun, H. M., Divers, J., Fornoni, A., Fried, L. F., Garg, A. X., Genovese, G., Groopman, E. E., Iyengar, S. K., Kaplan, B., Kao, W. H. L., Kimmel, P. L., … Sedor, J. R. (2021). APOL1 long-term kidney transplantation outcomes network (APOLLO): Design and rationale. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 32(2), 299–312. https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2020091282

Genovese, G., Friedman, D. J., Ross, M. D., Lecordier, L., Uzureau, P., Freedman, B. I., Bowden, D. W., Langefeld, C. D., Oleksyk, T. K., Uscinski Knob, A. L., Bernhardy, A. J., Hicks, P. J., Nelson, G. W., Vanhollebeke, B., Winkler, C. A., Kopp, J. B., Pays, E., & Pollak, M. R. (2010). Association of trypanolytic ApoL1 variants with kidney disease in African Americans. Science, 329(5993), 841–845. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1193032

Kidney Health Initiative. (2024). Roadmap for advancing awareness, genetic testing, and clinical studies of APOL1 kidney disease. American Society of Nephrology. https://khi.asn.org

Nadkarni, G. N., Gignoux, C. R., Engel, S. M., Adeyemo, A. A., & Parsa, A. (2018). Association of APOL1 risk variants with kidney disease in a population of African ancestry. The New England Journal of Medicine, 378(18), 1690–1698. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1710425

APOL1 Genetic Testing Resources

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]]> 2026 American Diabetes Association: The abridged version of the Standards of Care in Diabetes https://multiplechronicconditions.org/healthcare-professionals/2026-american-diabetes-association-the-abridged-version-of-the-standards-of-care-in-diabetes/ Wed, 27 May 2026 13:59:38 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4212 This collection provides an abridged version of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA’s) Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026 designed especially for primary care professionals. Developed by the ADA’s Primary Care Advisory Group*, this new resource contains the evidence-based clinical practice recommendations most pertinent to primary care—all presented in a user-friendly format. Its recommendations are substantively the...

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]]> This collection provides an abridged version of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA’s) Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026 designed especially for primary care professionals. Developed by the ADA’s Primary Care Advisory Group*, this new resource contains the evidence-based clinical practice recommendations most pertinent to primary care—all presented in a user-friendly format. Its recommendations are substantively the same as in the complete ADA Standards of Care, but presented in succinct bullet points and helpful graphics.

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]]> Neurocritical Care: Timing is Everything https://multiplechronicconditions.org/blog/neurocritical-care-timing-is-everything/ Tue, 12 May 2026 17:21:04 +0000 https://multiplechronicconditions.org/?p=4207 TeleNCC represents a natural evolution beyond traditional telestroke and tele–ICU models, addressing a broader range of acute neurologic conditions that require specialized expertise. Dr. Yakoby highlights how the consensus statement emphasizes key domains such as program structure, clinical operations, quality assurance, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Importantly, these recommendations were developed through a rigorous consensus-building process, reflecting...

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]]> TeleNCC represents a natural evolution beyond traditional telestroke and tele–ICU models, addressing a broader range of acute neurologic conditions that require specialized expertise. Dr. Yakoby highlights how the consensus statement emphasizes key domains such as program structure, clinical operations, quality assurance, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Importantly, these recommendations were developed through a rigorous consensus-building process, reflecting input from multidisciplinary experts and aligning with the realities of modern healthcare delivery. The result is a practical yet forward-thinking guide that supports institutions in implementing scalable, high-quality virtual neurocritical care services.

As discussed in the podcast, the implications of TeleNCC extend beyond operational guidance. They speak directly to improving patient outcomes and reducing disparities in access to specialized care. Facilities that adopt these standards can strengthen clinical decision-making, enhance patient safety, and create more consistent care pathways for complex neurologic emergencies. Dr. Yakoby underscores that this work is not only about technology, but about ensuring that every patient, regardless of location, benefits from evidence-based, expert neurocritical care.

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