The concept of China Kidney Disease Network (CK-NET) was initiated by the late Professor Hai-Yan Wang in 2014, and is further developed with the emergence of “Big Data” during the last 3 years. Currently CK-NET is run by the Center for Data Science in Kidney Disease, Peking University Health Science Center, and supported by the Intelligent Medical Research Center, Advanced Institute of Information Technology, Peking University.

The mission of CK-NET is by integrating various sources of data involving kidney disease in China, as well as by utilizing cutting-edge data analytics including machine learning, to provide data-based evidence for healthcare policy, to strengthen academic research, and to promote effective disease management in the field of nephrology. Currently, several large databases involving over 1 million patients with CKD, including national administrative and claims datasets, multi-center cohort studies, and regional electronic health records, are available for use.

One major output of CK-NET is to generate the Annual Data Report (ADR) regarding kidney disease in China. The 2014 Annual Data Report (ADR) including mostly pre-dialysis hospitalized patients in China. Eight chapters describing various aspects of patients with chronic kidney disease, as well two chapters involving acute kidney injury and one chapter regarding kidney transplantation waiting lists, are included in the ADR. The whole ADR has been published as a supplement of American Journal of Kidney Diseases in June, 2017. The 2015 CK-NET ADR was published in Kidney International and Kidney International Supplements in March, 2019, with more information regarding dialysis patients in China included in this ADR.