Data-Driven Healthcare Revolution: AI’s Impact on India’s Medical Landscape
Indian healthcare providers improving care using data and analytics
By Piyush Agarwal
In this digital era, there’s a popular saying, ‘Data is the new oil’ which holds the true meaning of the data-oil analogy. The term was coined by British mathematician, Clive Humby in 2006 who meant that oil is useless in its raw state and so is the data. Like oil, raw data also needs to be processed, analyzed, and interpreted to extract meaningful insights and create value for businesses and society.
Intelligent Healthcare
In a world where data has become the lifeblood of innovation and progress, there is one realm where its significance shines brighter than ever – healthcare. Health data, when harnessed effectively, becomes a powerful ally in the pursuit of better patient outcomes. And it’s not just about crunching numbers and creating charts – it’s about translating vast volumes of information into meaningful insights that can bring hope to millions and even save lives.
India’s healthcare sector is large and growing with significant investments from both government and corporations. Despite this, the country ranks low on the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) index. Integration of AI into data is vital to improve access and quality, especially amidst challenges exacerbated by COVID-19. This will enable organizations to have access to all their data, regardless of whether the data resides on the cloud or an on-premise data center. A Nasscom report states that data and AI together in healthcare have the potential to add $25-$30 billion to India’s GDP by 2025[1].
Harnessing the power of AI to build data-driven insights on patient care
Using AI-powered algorithms, doctors can now detect diseases earlier by analyzing large volumes of patient data, from medical history to laboratory results and imaging scans. Accelerated by the cloud, this early diagnosis service allows healthcare professionals to intervene promptly and provide personalized treatment plans built using ML, leading to better patient outcomes and more lives saved.
AI and cloud technology have revolutionized medical imaging. Advanced algorithms interpret X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans rapidly and accurately, aiding radiologists in India to detect health risks efficiently. ML models identify subtle patterns, leading to faster and precise diagnoses, enhancing patient care. Predictive analytics powered by AI help forecast patient outcomes, enabling tailored treatment plans and improved recovery rates.
Along with disease detection and patient care, AI-powered insights will accelerate the drug discovery process and introduce more inclusive care of patients. AI analyzes molecular structures and predicts potential drug candidates, accelerating the availability of new therapies and bringing more possibilities to patients in need. Delivering these new medications and care to patients is seeing an AI twist.
India’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana, one of the world’s largest schemes for the people of India provides paperless disposal of processes such as health claims, reimbursements, etc. to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. The Indian government is using fraud analytics, and Artificial Intelligence in the platform to make it efficient and beneficial for the citizens of India.
Cloud-based AI-powered virtual health assistants and chatbots have also become increasingly popular in India. India’s diverse cultures and industries drove the creation of language-specific and versatile chatbots. Healthcare emerged as a prominent sector for chatbot utilization due to its cost-effectiveness, attracting widespread adoption across corporations.
Security and Privacy
Medical data is, like financial data, extremely precious to us all and must be secured at all costs. This means AI implementations must adhere to strict ethical standards to earn and maintain public trust. Unsurprisingly, a crucial aspect of India’s healthcare’s technological advancement is data governance and security. Fortunately healthcare providers in the country are prioritizing patient confidence through robust data governance strategies which meet ever-evolving security requirements imposed by regulating agencies, governments, industries, and the general public.
The digital platforms in India, such as The National Digital Health Mission, has been built on two foundational concepts. One is privacy by design and another is collection of minimal data. This will help the country to enhance healthcare service delivery and new emerging technologies will make the system more efficient.
Amid all the wonders of data-driven, intelligent healthcare, one constant remains – the human touch. Behind every data point and predictive model stand compassionate healthcare providers who embrace data not as a replacement for their intuition and empathy but as a complement to their healing instincts. Democratizing the latest AI solutions is central to helping these heroes thrive.
(The author is Piyush Agarwal, SE Leader, Cloudera, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
