Stephen Z. Fadem, MD

6624 Fannin, Suite 1400
Houston, Texas 77030
phone (713) 795-5511
fax (713) 795-4627

Biography | Nephrology | Dialysis | Computer Projects

Dr. Fadem is a practicing Houston nephrologist. He began practice in 1978 after completing a renal fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and did his internal medicine residency at The University of Texas and MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of medicine. Formerly from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Fadem is married and has three children.

He is also a diplomate of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, and a member of the American Society of Nephrology, International Society of Nephrology, Renal Physicians Association, the American Association of Kidney Patients and The National Kidney Foundation.

He is active in quality management, credentialing and peer review for his dialysis centers. He is also active in several civic and religious organizations and is a past Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas.

On a national level, he is Vice-President of the Board of Directors and a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the American Association of Kidney Patients. He is a member of NKF cyberNephrology and is on the ISN Informatics Commission. He is on the Laboratory Advisory Board for Davita. He is on two national RPA committees, the Government Affairs Committee and the Health Finance Committee, and active in the Forum of ESRD Networks as a member of the Clinical Performance Measures Committee. He serves on the Technical Expert Panel for Dialysis Facility Compare, and participates on the Fistula First Initiative Task Force. He has been a consultant to the computer industry in the development of CKD management software and is a business partner in Touchmed. He lectures frequently on dialysis management, preventive nephrology, vascular calcification, anemia, patient education, CKD education, information sysotems, computer technology and computer security.

Dr. Fadem has been nationally recognized by receiving the American Association of Kidney Patient's Nova Award, the National Kidney Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. He has also received the National Kidney Foundation's Presidents Award and the Myron L. Jenkins Award. He has been awarded the Peter Lundin Award for his contributions to patient education. Dr. Fadem is also a recipient of the Samuel Orenstein Award and the AAKP Visionary Award.

Dr. Fadem's hobby is photography.

Nephrology

A nephrologist (kidney doctor) treats patients with various kidney disorders such as kidney failure or chronic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, hypertension, electrolyte and acid-base disorders. Nephrologists play an active role in the prevention of renal failure caused by diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, polycystic kidney disease. They manage patients who require dialysis and are instrumental in the evaluation of these patients for kidney transplantation. Since the early detection and mangement of patients with kidney disease leads to better outcomes, the nephrology community is highly interested in the area of chronic kidney disease (CKD) management and education.

Several web sites offer a great deal of additional information about these disorders. See related links and visit the The Nephron Information Center, http://nephron.com. Wikikidney has excellent resources, and is a work in progress.

Dialysis

In 1985 Dr. Fadem and Dr. Samir Tuma, a former Baylor faculty member founded the Houston Kidney Center. The HKC Integrated Service Network, now a part of DaVita, is comprised of six dialysis facilities. The DaVita Medical Center Facility is now one of the largest dialysis units in the United States.

Dialysis Centers

Computer Projects

In addition to his interests in medicine, Dr. Fadem is an avid computer enthusiast. Along with his wife, Joyce, and in cooperation with The Harris County Medical Society, he produced computer expositions in 1984 and 1985. He participates in the renal section of the The Harris County Medical Society Museum of Health and Medical Science, and worked with several physicians to develop an interactive patient education program using Macromedia Director. He created The Nephron Information Center, Renalworld, and has contributed to many websites. He is responsible for the original National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative Website (NKF-K/DOQI). Dr. Fadem is the co-founder of the Newsdesk, http://nephron.com. The Nephron Information Center uses this novel technology engineered by RoboCommerce to present updated news stories about kidney disease.

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