The Rogosin Institute's Initiative to Promote Health Literacy (Case Study)

This case study describes The Rogosin Institute’s (Rogosin’s) experience in implementing a health literacy initiative focused on chronic kidney disease (CKD). Motivated by feedback from its patients and staff, Rogosin crafted strategies specifically to provide health literacy education to patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) and who are pre-ESRD, its own staff, and the community. The initiative supports Rogosin’s goal of providing better care to patients with kidney disease while lowering costs. Rogosin’s strategy for educating pre-ESRD patients consists of two programs: the Program for the Education of People with Advanced Kidney Disease (PEAK) and Inpatient PEAK (iPEAK). Preliminary results suggest that both PEAK and iPEAK have improved the quality of care received by participants with advanced CKD. These results and Rogosin’s implementation experience will be useful to ESRD Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs), accountable care organizations, and other health care entities that are seeking to develop and implement health literacy initiatives.