Redefining Healthcare Innovation — Kali Arduini Ihde

From AI to digital health, new technologies are reshaping how care is delivered. But how do health systems actually bring these ideas to life in meaningful ways?

This week’s VentureFuel Visionary is Kali Arduini Ihde, Director of Ventures and Innovation at Northwestern Medicine. 

Kali is at the forefront of bringing emerging technologies into one of the country’s top academic health systems to help shape the future of patient care through innovation. She leads the Northwestern Medicine Healthcare Accelerator, which partners with AI and digital health startups to solve real, high-impact challenges in healthcare.

Episode Highlights

• The Human Side of Innovation – Kali shares how her upbringing sparked her passion for merging tech and patient care. Her early career gave her firsthand experience in how technology adoption can succeed or fail in real healthcare settings.
• Building a Culture of Adoption – Innovation isn’t about flashy tech — it’s about solving problems without adding extra burdens. She explains how Northwestern Medicine creates safe environments for testing solutions.
• Shifting the Burden Away from Physicians – The conversation explores how innovation can remove administrative barriers like insurance processes, allowing physicians to focus on what they do best — caring for patients.
• Tackling Healthcare’s Toughest Pain Points – Kali shares that the accelerator program focuses on solving real, system-wide challenges like clinician burnout, IT security, supply chain efficiency, and the growing demand for workforce support.
• Practical Integration With Health Systems – Beyond mentorship, she discusses that the startups benefit from Northwestern’s long-standing expertise, IT architecture support, and direct access to real-world hospital settings to refine and scale their solutions.