Leveraging AI and Rapid Testing to Combat the Rise of Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the fastest-growing global health challenges, yet it remains persistently underdiagnosed and undertreated until its later, most costly stages. As healthcare systems worldwide struggle with rising chronic disease prevalence, workforce shortages, and ongoing health inequities, CKD exemplifies the urgent need for smarter, more proactive models of care.

In 2021 alone, an estimated 19.94 million new cases of CKD were diagnosed globally, with an age-standardized incidence of approximately 233.56 cases per 100,000 people. That same year, CKD contributed to roughly 1.53 million deaths worldwide, underscoring its growing role as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Beyond the human toll, the economic burden is substantial – and accelerating.

The current methods for CKD identification and treatment management have been insufficient. Unfortunately, late-stage diagnosis continues to be an issue, particularly among underserved populations. This leads to poor outcomes and exponentially higher healthcare costs. The solution to this problem emerges through the integration of real-time point-of-care (POC) testing with AI-based analytics systems and precision care pathways. The combination of these tools allows healthcare providers (HCPs) to detect diseases at earlier stages before they progress to advanced stages where the organ failure is irreversible. This then further supports the delivery of specific medical interventions, creating an equitable system for managing chronic diseases.

The Global Challenge of CKD

CKD affects nearly a billion people worldwide, with prevalence projected to rise steadily over the next decade due to aging populations and increasing rates of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiometabolic disease. While CKD is a global problem, its impact is unevenly distributed. Low- and middle-income countries, as well as marginalized communities in high-income nations, often experience higher rates of disease progression and mortality due to limited access to early screening and consistent follow-up care.

The financial implications are equally stark. Early-stage CKD may cost healthcare systems approximately $3,000 per patient per year, but costs escalate dramatically as the disease progresses. For patients requiring dialysis, annual costs can exceed $57,000 per individual, not including indirect costs such as lost day-to-day productivity and caregiver burden. These figures highlight a fundamental truth: CKD is far more affordable to manage early than to treat late.

Health inequities further compound the problem. In many regions, patients lack access to routine laboratory testing, nephrology specialists, or longitudinal care models. As a result, CKD often goes undetected until symptoms emerge – by which point, irreversible kidney damage has already occurred.

Point-of-Care Testing: Bringing Detection Closer to the Patient

Rapid POC testing methods enable healthcare delivery to extend beyond the traditional hospital setting. Patients have access to not only primary care clinics and pharmacies – but also locations such as places of worship, community health centers and mobile outreach programs. The availability of healthcare services through this system creates a life-changing impact for people who live in rural areas or who do not have direct access to hospitals. Instead of requiring patients to navigate complex referral pathways or travel long distances for lab work, testing can occur where care is already being delivered.

The clinical benefits are immediate. The system generates real-time results, allowing medical personnel to provide guidance through lifestyle suggestions, medication adjustment, or medical specialist consultation for patients. This quick feedback enables patients to better understand their treatment – and maintain their scheduled follow-up appointments.

POC testing provides important advantages through its ability to expand at large scales. POC testing enables prevention programs to reach vast populations while minimizing expenses that occur when patients receive CKD treatment at advanced stages. Health systems can improve their POC data analysis through AI-based analytics, which helps them identify people who will develop symptoms before their condition becomes visible.

Early screening programs, such as those initiated by our organization, demonstrate this potential. Community-based screening initiatives in regions such as Cameroon and Bermuda have uncovered unexpectedly high rates of previously undiagnosed CKD, including advanced disease in younger adults. These findings underscore both the hidden burden of CKD and the value of bringing diagnostics directly into the community.

AI-Driven Analytics: Smarter CKD Management

While rapid testing improves access to data, AI-driven analytics determine how effectively that data is used. Advanced algorithms can analyze POC results alongside demographic information, comorbidities, and longitudinal trends to predict which patients are most likely to experience disease progression.

The risk assessment system enables HCPs to perform proactive patient management through personalized care delivery to individual patients. Rather than treating all patients the same, healthcare teams can focus resources on those who need intervention most urgently – before costly complications develop.

Integrated into electronic health records (EHRs) and digital health platforms, AI can also provide real-time clinical decision support. Frontline providers receive actionable instructions which follow evidence-based medical guidelines to provide standardized care. The system includes automated alert systems which work with prioritization tools to prevent patients who need follow-up care or medical referrals from being lost in the process. However, most countries in the world lack an adequate number of specialists to manage the disease burden once unknown disease becomes known. Therefore, a key use of AI is to upskill the primary care resources such as PCPs, nurses, and pharmacists that are available in most communities so the disease can be appropriately treated and in a timely fashion.

From an operational perspective, the benefits are significant. By reducing unnecessary testing, preventable hospitalizations, and late-stage interventions, AI-driven CKD management improves efficiency and lowers total cost of care. These gains are especially meaningful in resource-constrained settings, where specialist access is limited, and healthcare dollars must stretch further.

Toward Equitable, Holistic Chronic Disease Care

The implications of this technology-driven approach extend well beyond CKD. The same platforms used to support kidney health can be adapted to manage other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes and cardiometabolic conditions. This creates an opportunity for integrated, longitudinal care models that address multiple chronic conditions simultaneously.

The method establishes a connection between healthcare services which have been unavailable to patients for many years. The combination of community-based diagnostic services with intelligent analytics enables early disease identification, which leads to preventive care and value-based medical services. The tools provide healthcare leaders and policymakers with methods to link medical results to organizational financial stability. 

Ethical considerations remain essential. As AI becomes more embedded in care delivery, healthcare organizations must prioritize data privacy, transparency, and algorithmic fairness. Ensuring that these technologies reduce – rather than reinforce – health disparities is critical to their long-term success.

The Future of CKD and NCD Care

Early detection and proactive management are the most effective strategies for combating CKD. By combining rapid POC testing with AI-driven analytics, healthcare providers can identify disease earlier, intervene more effectively, and prevent costly outcomes such as dialysis and transplantation.

Equally important, these technologies serve as a bridge to equity. Digital platforms which use portable diagnostic tools now deliver advanced medical care to people who lacked previous access to proper healthcare. In areas where there is a paucity of specialists, AI-driven upskilling provides the primary care providers with the expertise to manage patients more effectively. The system delivers patients with full risk assessment and post-treatment tracking services which function without regard to their financial situation or where they live. As demonstrated by programs in both low-resource and high-income settings, technology-enabled CKD management can scale across diverse healthcare environments. Looking ahead, integrated platforms have the potential to support a holistic, preventative model.