DaVita Clinical Research (DCR), a specialty contract research organization, will present four abstracts at National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) 2014 Spring Clinical Meeting, which takes place April 22-26, 2014 in Las Vegas.

The NKF Spring Clinical Meeting is a platform for the nation's leading kidney care providers to learn about new developments related to all aspects of nephrology and is expected to attract nearly 3,000 health care professionals in 2014.

Representatives from DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., and DCR will present results from both DaVita's innovative clinical quality initiatives and clinical research originating from DCR and its research partners.

"Our goal at DaVita is to move up the clinical pyramid and improve mortality, morbidity and patient quality of life. Innovating through clinical quality initiatives is one important way we do that," said Mahesh Krishnan, vice president of clinical innovation and public policy at DaVita. "Translational research and meaningful quality initiatives, as are included among these abstracts, are essential for improving health care. These findings further solidify DaVita's commitment to investing in improved patient outcomes."

DaVita will share the results from the following clinical quality initiatives during the poster session on Wednesday, April 23, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.: "Treating depression in the dialysis setting: validating Symptom Targeted Intervention," presented by Shaun Boyd, L.S.W., poster 155; "Root Causes of Lack of Adherence to Mineral Bone Disease (MBD) Medication in ESRD Patients," presented by Maureen McKinley, L.S.W., poster 408

In addition, the findings from the following health outcomes research studies will be presented during the poster session scheduled for April 23, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: "Economic Impact of Ferric Citrate (FC) versus Standard of Care for Hemodialysis Patients," presented by Steven M. Brunelli, M.D., M.S.C.E., poster 156; "Disease Burden of Diabetic Foot Ulcers in End-Stage Renal Disease," presented by Scott Sibbel, Ph.D., M.P.H., poster 221

DCR seeks to advance the future of medicine, the practice of medicine and to innovate through personalized medicine. DCR and DaVita share a dedication to improving the health and quality of life for kidney care patients.

DaVita, DaVita Clinical Research and DCR are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500 company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad.

DaVita Clinical Research (DCR), a wholly owned subsidiary of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., uses its extensive, applied database and real-world healthcare experience to assist pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the design, recruitment, and completion of clinical trials including retrospective and prospective pragmatic trials.