Workflow: Preparing a Pre-Dialysis Patient Education Session

Pre-dialysis education consultations are among the most important in nephrology. This workflow uses an AI tool to help you prepare the supporting materials that make these consultations more productive — without replacing the consultation itself.

1. Define the patient's clinical and life context before opening the tool

   Before you open the tool, write a brief anonymised profile: age range, CKD stage, the clinical timeline (approximate), key comorbidities, and relevant life factors — living situation, work status, family support, proximity to a dialysis centre. This context shapes everything the tool produces.

2. Decide which documents you need

   A pre-dialysis education consultation may need: a plain-language overview of the dialysis options, a comparison document, a question list to give the patient in advance, or a summary letter after the consultation. Decide which you need before you start and do them in separate prompts — one document per prompt session produces better results than asking for everything at once.

3. Draft the options comparison document first

   Open your AI tool and draft the comparison document. Specify the patient's context clearly — particularly any factors that make one option more or less practical for this patient. For a patient who lives alone, ask the tool to frame the practical challenges of peritoneal dialysis honestly. For a patient who drives, ask it to address the time commitment of haemodialysis travel. Specify that no option should be recommended. Review the draft carefully.

4. Draft the pre-consultation question list

   In the same session or a new one, ask the tool to generate a list of questions to give the patient before the consultation — questions for them to think about, not questions for you. For example: "What does a typical week look like for someone on each of these options?" and "What do people find hardest about each option?" These questions prepare the patient to engage meaningfully rather than listen passively.

5. Ask the tool to generate questions the patient is likely to raise

   This step is for your preparation. Ask the tool: "What questions are patients in this situation most likely to ask about dialysis options? Group them by topic." Review the list. Most you will have anticipated. Some may prompt you to prepare a specific answer or check a local pathway detail — for example, what the typical waiting time for home peritoneal dialysis setup is in your service.

6. Draft a plain-language explanation of conservative management

   Conservative management (also called supportive or palliative kidney management) needs its own honest plain-language explanation. This is often the hardest option to describe without it appearing either alarming or as if it means no care at all. Draft this separately, with specific attention to framing it as an active choice focused on comfort and quality of life.

7. Review all documents for consistency and tone

   Before using any of these documents, read them together as a set. Check that: no option is presented more or less favourably than the others, the language is consistent, and no document makes a statement that contradicts another. If a patient reads all three documents, they should arrive at the consultation with a clear, balanced picture.

8. Use the documents as consultation aids, not substitutes

   Give the options comparison and question list to the patient before the consultation — ideally a few days before so they have time to read and think. Use the session to address their actual questions, not to cover material they could have read in advance. The consultation becomes a conversation, not a lecture.

What this means for you

Patients who arrive at a pre-dialysis consultation having already read about the options, and with their own questions prepared, engage more meaningfully. They make more informed decisions. They are less likely to look back later and feel that the decision was made for them. The tool helps you produce preparation materials efficiently. The quality of the consultation remains yours to deliver.

When not to use this workflow

For patients with cognitive impairment, significant language barriers, or other circumstances that affect their capacity to engage with written materials, this workflow needs significant adaptation. The documents should be simpler, accompanied by verbal explanation from a trained educator, and reviewed with an interpreter or family member where appropriate.

Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.