New resources make CKM care more approachable

Family physicians have a front-row view of changes in patient health. We may also be the first to notice subtle changes or early warning signs that health is changing. Silent conditions such as rising blood pressure, deteriorating kidney function and metabolic risk factors rarely occur on their own, and the exam room is often the first place where the whole picture comes into frame. When patients start to have problems in multiple systems, it can be overwhelming for the patient and the physician.

As primary care teams’ understanding of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) health grows, so does their need for practical support. The AAFP has developed a pair of resources—the CKM Management Clinical Tool and the CKM Shared Decision-Making Guide—that will help you assess risk factors and guide conversations about treatment.

Family physicians are at the heart of CKM care

CKM provides a framework for understanding the relationship between cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and metabolic disease. Rather than viewing these conditions and their shared risk factors separately, the CKM model highlights how they influence one another across a patient’s lifespan. It also provides an opportunity to detect early changes in health that could have broad implications.

For family physicians, it’s easy to see those connections emerge across annual checkups, follow-up visits and other conversations. You are responsible for identifying risks, recognizing changes in condition and helping patients navigate the complexities of care, especially as the prevalence of CKM-related conditions continues to rise.

Bringing patients into CKM care decisions

Due to the overlapping risks that define it, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing CKM health. It provides us a context to explore how these conditions are related and treat the underlying problems, reducing risks on multiple fronts.

Your patients are likely already weighing short- and long-term options such as starting new medications, making lifestyle changes and adjusting for competing health priorities. You have the opportunity to make every conversation count, aligning your clinical guidance with what matters most to them.

Shared decision-making guide for CKM management

The AAFP’s Shared Decision-Making Guide for CKM Management can help you facilitate these conversations during patient visits. The resource is a practical conversational tool that supports discussions about things like:

How CKM guidance shows up in everyday practice

When you have a busy clinic schedule, it can be hard to zoom out and see how it all connects for a patient. Practical tools like these can make those connections easier to identify during routine visits.

CKM management clinical tool for primary care

The CKM Management Clinical Tool for Primary Care simplifies clinical decision-making by outlining considerations for managing different stages of CKM in one place. This includes guidance for:

Turning CKM guidance into action

As a family physician, you’ve built a relationship with your patient that they don’t have with any other health care professional. That perspective helps you identify connected conditions before they compound and guide patients through the decisions that follow. Whether you’re discussing risk factors, adjusting treatment plans or talking through a new diagnosis, you’re the one who helps them see the whole picture.

These new resources are part of the AAFP’s broader initiative to support CKM health in family medicine through clinical guidance, educational opportunities and partnerships that help bring consistent recommendations into practice.