Ubie and the American Kidney Fund Collaborate to Speed Early Diagnosis and Education for Kidney Disease

• Kidney disease kills more Americans every year than breast or prostate cancer, but 9 in 10 don’t know they have the disease, leading to late diagnosis and irreversible damage
• The collaboration will fine tune Ubie’s Symptom Checker AI with the goal of accelerating time to diagnosis for patients to improve outcomes and ensure proper education

NEW YORK, July 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ubie, a global healthcare AI platform that works at the intersection of patients, providers, and life sciences to guide everyone to better care, and the American Kidney Fund (AKF), the nonprofit with the greatest direct impact on people with kidney disease, today announced a collaboration focused on assessing and fine-tuning Ubie’s Symptom Checker disease prediction AI with the goal of driving patients to faster diagnosis, allowing them to receive faster treatment earlier in the disease progression, thereby improving outcomes.

The need for accelerated diagnosis is critical, as most people diagnosed with kidney disease are in the late stages and need immediate attention since symptoms don’t appear until the kidneys are already badly damaged.

AKF and AKF Ambassadors living with kidney disease will assess and validate Ubie’s AI tool, imparting their knowledge and insights. Incorporating real-world patient feedback will allow Ubie to further increase the algorithm’s accuracy in diagnosing kidney disease, while also ensuring that language used on the platform is aligned with the community. Ubie will guide patients who receive a differential diagnosis of kidney disease on its free platform to AKF’s educational resources and comprehensive support services.

Kidney diseases are a leading cause of death in the US, with chronic kidney disease (CKD) being the most common, affecting more than 1 in 7 U.S. adults. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical to the survivability of patients. Shortening the timeline to diagnosis is even more pressing considering patients who progress to end-stage kidney disease (also known as kidney failure) face a shortage of donor organs. About 97% of people who develop kidney failure must start dialysis. The waiting list for a kidney can last years, and 13 people die every day while waiting.

“The AKF’s collaboration with Ubie will result in an important new tool to help those at risk seek an earlier and more accurate diagnosis, supporting our efforts to close access gaps in kidney disease and increase kidney health equity. Getting  immediate access to education on kidney disease can empower patients to better understand how to live with the disease and its comorbidities,” said LaVarne A. Burton, President and CEO of The American Kidney Fund.

The burden of kidney disease is highest among historically disadvantaged populations. These populations often have limited access to healthcare and specialists, creating a barrier to diagnosis, treatment and education, which further increases disparities in health outcomes. The risk of CKD is even greater for those with diabetes or high blood pressure, the two most common causes of kidney disease, accounting for 2 out of 3 new cases. Nearly 1 in 3 people with diabetes and 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure have kidney disease.

The AKF is the nation’s leading kidney nonprofit, working on behalf of the 1 in 7 Americans living with kidney disease. The partnership will help improve access to trusted information about the cause of a patient’s kidney disease, providing clear and actionable information, and the ability to get much needed treatment much sooner than the status quo.

“Ubie is constantly pushing the boundaries of accuracy in AI. We fine-tune our Symptom Checker disease by disease to ensure that we are providing a tool that can speed access to patients anywhere in the US,” said Kota Kubo, Ubie Co-Founder and Co-CEO. “Partnering with the American Kidney Fund, with their unparalleled understanding of the patient voice, helps us build even better products. Together, we share a vision of a future where technology empowers patients to take control of their health.”

Ubie is dedicated to advancing healthcare by leveraging cutting-edge disease prediction technology to enhance patient care navigation, treatment and overall health outcomes. The company’s patient-facing Symptom Checker is used by more than 10M patients each month to get personalized guidance on health concerns and identify best care options.

CKD can be treated to stop disease progression and, hopefully, prevent kidney failure. However, there is no cure, and kidney damage cannot be reversed. The earlier kidney disease can be addressed, the less damaged a patient’s kidneys will be.

More about Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means you have lasting damage to your kidneys that can get worse over time. When kidneys are damaged, they lose the ability to filter wastes and fluids out of the blood. Wastes can then build up in the body and harm a patient’s health. CKD is broken out in 5 stages based on kidney function (identified through an eGFR test), with Stage 5 meaning that the kidneys have stopped working completely. Patients with Stage 5 CKD may need dialysis or a kidney transplant. The economic burden of kidney disease is significant, costing our health system approximately $126 billion annually.

About the American Kidney Fund

The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nonprofit with the greatest direct impact on people with kidney disease. AKF works on behalf of 1 in 7 Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease—from prevention through transplant. AKF fights for kidney health for all through programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy. AKF is one of the nation’s top-rated nonprofits, investing 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and holds the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 21 consecutive years and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid, formerly known as GuideStar.

For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Ubie

Founded in 2017, Ubie empowers individuals and healthcare professionals with the tools they need for better care. Leveraging cutting-edge disease prediction AI, Ubie guides 10+ million patients every month to seek appropriate medical attention through its free online Symptom Checker, and equips 1,500+ provider organizations with clinical tools that streamline workflows and support better diagnoses and health outcomes. Trained on medical data, Ubie’s marketing solutions power advanced targeting capabilities and high-performing digital campaigns for 70% of the world’s top life science companies.

Learn more about our vision and work at https://ubiehealth.com/company or try our free Symptom Checker at https://ubiehealth.com/.

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