‘AI can make access to healthcare affordable’

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

He said artificial intelligence should be seen as a tool to empower healthcare workers rather than replace them to improve diagnosis, treatment, education and patient care.

President of the Asian Gastroenterology Institute, Dr. According to Reddy, artificial intelligence; It is transforming the fields of drug discovery, radiology, telemedicine, precision medicine, predictive medicine, genomics, cancer detection, dermatology and remote patient monitoring.

Stating that artificial intelligence has significantly shortened the drug discovery process, reducing timelines from decades to a few years, he also observed that the next decade will 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 the medical information robotic assistant and iSAVE, an early warning system that constantly monitors critical patient parameters and alerts doctors.

He expressed his views that the role of AI could address the growing burden of fatty liver disease in the country by enabling cost-effective 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 emerge. As AI transforms the way students learn and teachers teach, he cautioned that it must be used responsibly, recognizing both its great potential and its limitations.