By Prakash HS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds an immense potential to transform the way healthcare services are delivered. Using AI, healthcare organisations can utilise algorithms for better clinical decisions and enhance the quality of the patient experiences.
There are many areas where AI can make a substantial impact in India’s healthcare system including:
- Medical Imaging and Diagnostics:
AI-powered image analysis enhances the accuracy, precision and speed of diagnosing conditions like cancer, tuberculosis, and other diseases. It can help in detecting anomalies in X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other medical images.
Apart from the global companies like GE Healthcare, Siemens & Philips healthcare there are several Indian Startups leveraging AI to improve healthcare delivery. The leading ones are SigTuple, Niramai, Qure.ai, Aindra, Perfint Healthcare and Tricog.
- Drug Discovery and Development
The pharma industry is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline drug discovery and development as it can significantly speed up the process of drug discovery by analyzing vast datasets and identifying potential drug candidates. Although adoption remains early, it is rapidly expanding.
As per a recent CPHI annual report, AI is expected to transform all processes in drug development by the year 2026. Another report by Grand View Research, states that the market for AI tools in the drug discovery was worth about $1.1 billion last year and is growing at a CAGR of 30% from 2023 to 2030.
In India, Syngene International, a leading Contract Research Organization has developed proprietary solutions for AI based drug discovery programs. Globally pharma majors like Pfizer, Roche, J&J & Novartis have made significant adaptation of this technology.
- Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring
AI-driven telemedicine platforms facilitate access to healthcare services in remote and underserved areas. AI systems can evaluate huge amounts of medical data by leveraging the power of machine learning algorithms and empower healthcare providers with data-driven insights and decision-making capabilities, enabling them to deliver more efficient and exact diagnosis.
- Personalized Medicine
AI can analyze genetic and clinical data to tailor treatment plans for individuals, maximizing the efficacy of treatments while minimizing side effects. It can also predict disease risks and suggest preventive measures based on an individual’s unique genetic makeup. Using AI-powered personalised medicine could allow for more effective treatment of conditions such as heart disease and cancer, or rare diseases.
Companies like MedGenome, a genomics and clinical research company specialising in precision medicine, use advanced AI and machine learning techniques to analyse genetic data and provide personalised treatment recommendations to patients.
- Epidemiological Surveillance and Disease Tracking
AI can analyse data from various sources to detect disease outbreaks and trends, enabling early intervention and containment measures. It can also predict the spread of diseases, aiding in resource allocation and planning. AI-powered outbreak monitoring solution automates the existing disease surveillance system in India thus assisting the government in preventing disease outbreaks.
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Union Health Ministry has partnered with AI technology companies to develop and maintain an Information Communication Technology for collection, collation, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of real-time data. AIIMS, New Delhi which was declared an AI Centre of Excellence in healthcare by the government this year, is already underway to develop AI tools to revolutionize healthcare delivery.
- Health Records Management
EHRs generate massive amounts of patient data, and AI helps manage and organize this information efficiently. AI algorithms can categorize and structure data, making it easier for healthcare providers to access and interpret relevant patient information. Natural language processing (NLP) can extract valuable insights from unstructured clinical notes.
Some of the large companies harnessing AI in Healthcare include
- IBM Watson Health
- NVIDIA Clara
- Siemens Healthineers
- Cerner Corporation
- Noventiq
New opportunities for workforce in healthcare
With increasing integration of AI in the healthcare sector, it is believed that it would take away job opportunities. However, in reality, human intervention is still considered to be valuable in terms of determining the best application and overseeing machine operations. Thus, creating a range of new job opportunities across various domains. Few of them are listed below.
- AI Researchers and Engineers
- Data Scientists and Analysts
- Medical Imaging Analysts
- Clinical Informaticians
- Health Data Managers
- Ethical AI and Compliance Experts
- AI Product Managers
- Robotic Engineers
- AI Policy and Regulatory Experts
Conclusion
While AI can bring a huge advantage and opportunity in the healthcare sector, some of the barriers to its adoption in healthcare industry include blind spots in areas such as data access & collection, privacy issues, data misuse, and regulatory ambiguity. Though India has started its journey in AI-based healthcare services, and it is growing rapidly, yet there is a long way to go.
(The author is Prakash HS, Vice President – Pharma & Life Sciences, WalkWater Talent Advisors, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
