The Need to Reduce The Patient Disparities That Exist in Kidney Disease

Dr. Cynthia Silva, Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Outset Medical discusses a recent abstract that was presented at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Spring Clinical Meeting “Redefining dialysis care on the Hawaiian Islands: reducing health disparities and resource utilization” that found that Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have the highest rates of diabetes, coronary artery disease and kidney disease of any racial group. Dr. Silva also discusses how implementation of Outset’s Tablo home hemodialysis (HHD) system expanded access to Native Hawaiians, demonstrated tolerance of the unique Hawaiian environment, and reduced cost of utilities resulting in a high treatment success rate. Additionally, she discusses what more needs to be done to increase access and reduce health disparities in kidney care and dialysis treatment, as well as the need for better education and awareness of kidney disease and prevention.

Cynthia Silva joined Outset Medical in February 2022, after 12 years in academic practice as Division Head of Pediatric Nephrology and Director of Dialysis and Apheresis Services at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. She is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Nephrology and received her training at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT. She developed and stabled the first pediatric dialysis center in the state with outreach across 3 states. She remains active in ASN, ASPN and IPNA with her focus on expanding access to new technologies for patients in special populations.

Cynthia received her undergraduate degree from University of Maryland College Park and her medical degree from SUNY Downstate, Brooklyn New York.