‘AI can make access to healthcare affordable’

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to make healthcare more accessible, affordable, and efficient while transforming medical research and patient care, renowned gastroenterologist D. Nageshwar Reddy said, delivering the 16th foundation day lecture at the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, here on Friday.

He said AI should be viewed as a tool to augment, rather than replace, healthcare professionals to improve diagnosis, treatment, education, and patient care.

According to Dr. Reddy, chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, AI is transforming drug discovery, radiology, telemedicine, precision medicine, predictive medicine, genomics, cancer detection, dermatology, and remote patient monitoring.

Noting that AI has significantly shortened the drug discovery process, reducing timelines from decades to a few years, he also observed that the next decade would witness a major transformation in pharmaceutical research.

“AI will not replace doctors, but doctors who know how to use AI will replace those who don’t,” he said, referring to the slow adoption of AI among doctors.

In his lecture, he shared examples of AI initiatives such as a medical information robotic assistant and iSAVE, an early warning system that continuously monitors critical patient parameters and alerts doctors.

He expressed views that AI role can address the growing burden of fatty liver disease in the country by enabling affordable screening using a few simple clinical parameters instead of expensive diagnostic tests; and in clinical documentation systems and analysis of CT scans.

Chancellor, ICFAI, C. Rangarajan observed that AI is still in its infancy, and its long-term impact is yet to unfold. While AI is transforming the way students learn and teachers teach, he cautioned that it must be used responsibly, recognising both its immense potential and its limitations.