Advancing AI in Kidney Care

In this episode of Kidney Health Connections, Dr. George Hart interviews Alex Ruterbories, director of data science at Interwell Health, on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing kidney care. They discuss how machine learning and predictive analytics are helping personalize treatment by predicting patient risks, such as hospitalization or disease progression. Ruterbories elaborates on various types of AI, explaining how these tools can improve decision-making by synthesizing vast amounts of patient data into actionable insights to help clinicians provide better care while reducing burnout from excessive documentation.

The conversation also touches on key challenges in AI, such as bias and the importance of human oversight to prevent errors, particularly in generative AI, where systems may "hallucinate" or produce inaccurate information. Ruterbories emphasizes the need for transparency and continuous monitoring to ensure trust in AI models, as well as the importance of collaboration between clinicians and AI developers to ensure that AI tools are practical and serve to augment, not replace, human expertise.