Gen AI in Healthcare: The State of Affairs in India

Recently, I came across a tweet contemplating the need for emergency healthcare solutions in India. If we can have groceries, clothes, and even expensive digital gadgets delivered in under 10 minutes, why not healthcare?

The post made me reflect on the state of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption in the country. Our immediate needs are different unlike the west where AI is expediting drug development and clinical trials. Continuity in exceptional care, faster and affordable healthcare solutions are our priority.?

Currently, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi is the only public healthcare institution exploring AI-driven solutions. AIIMS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Pune, launched the iOncology.ai platform to support oncologists in making informed cancer treatment decisions. The platform uses deep learning models to detect early-stage ovarian cancer, and available data shows this has already improved patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.

This is one of the few key AI-driven initiatives in India. Although AI adoption in the healthcare provider segment is relatively high at 68%, a large portion of deployments are still in the PoC phase. What could transform India’s healthcare with Generative AI? What could help bring care to those who need it most?

Before addressing these questions, let's highlight the progress we have made over the last few years.?

The Indian healthcare sector has achieved significant growth in the number of primary and community health centers. There has been a notable surge in public hospitals and increased bed capacity and data shows increased utilization of public health facilities. The improvement was inspiring that the government even drafted a Health Vision 2047 to make India’s healthcare system one of the best in the world.?

Areas Were Gen AI Can Create Impact

India's healthcare system is supported by expert, dedicated practitioners. Yet this alone isn’t sufficient with the low doctor-to-population ratio.? If we are to bring in generative AI intervention as an emergency healthcare response,? then three core areas were we require the support are;

• Emergency care for heart-related conditions
• Nationwide cancer care detection and quick support for persons with special needs
• Mental health and suicide prevention?

India, like many countries, grapples with the rise in heart-related issues and cancer cases. Could AI models help detect and warn individuals about irregular heart patterns? For instance, the Apple Watch Series 10’s ECG feature detected an elderly woman’s atrial fibrillation, potentially saving her life. With similar well-trained models and Gen AI devices, more lives could be saved. If we could implement AIIMS’ cancer detection solution across all government and private hospitals in India, it could significantly reduce cancer-related mortality and even healthcare costs.

Similarly, India, like many countries, grapples with mental health challenges, with younger generations even turning to AI models for comfort during times of loneliness or mental crises. A connected system, with dedicated AI models monitored and facilitated by experts, could tackle mental health issues among students, working professionals, and the elderly. This is an issue that cannot wait.

The Challenges and Future with Gen AI?

India has tremendous potential in machine intelligence, especially as we develop our own Gen AI capabilities. In healthcare, however, the pace of progress is hindered by financial constraints and a shortage of specialists in the field. Concerns over data breaches and cybersecurity incidents also contribute to this aversion. Healthcare is a vulnerable sector where even minor breaches can impact millions. The transition of Gen AI use cases to production level or scaled-up MVP remains limited, with 84% of companies reporting no use cases moved to this level.

For a resilient country like India, none of these challenges are unachievable. Remember how we started with digital transformation? Today, we are among the top countries driving digital transformation.?

Generative AI has the potential to transform healthcare, benefiting not only India’s economy but, most importantly, the well-being of its people. The caveat in healthcare is that every solution needs to be administered by a human to not lose the emotional connect we all look for. Yet, that will not stop us from innovating to make healthcare support accessible or even faster than quick commerce.?