The flagship initiative of the AKDN is a unique data collection initiative of routine laboratory tests on all
patients in the province of Alberta, resulting in a geographically inclusive database.

We collect 11 tests :

• Creatinine
• Hemoglobin
• Potassium
• Hemoglobin A1C
• Fasting total cholesterol
• Fasting high density lipoprotein
• Fasting low density lipoprotein
• Urine dipstick 
• Urine microalbumin-creatinine ratio
• Urine protein-creatinine ratio
• 24 hour urine protein

These tests are routinely ordered for patients with common medical conditions to guide ongoing patient assessment, monitor disease progression and identify relevant outcomes 

Patients identified from laboratory data are linked to administrative and other computerized sources to obtain detailed information including socio-demographic data, clinical data including comorbidities, health care encounters, health care costs, death, and kidney-related outcomes. 

Research Areas

The AKDN objectives are focused around 5 key research methodologies:

• clinical epidemiology
• health services research
• clinical trials
• systematic review and meta-analysis
• health economics