Artificial Intelligence & Health sector | GS PAPER 3
Healthcare is one of the most dynamic, yet challenging, sectors in India.
Yet, it faces major challenges of quality, accessibility, and affordability for a large section of the population
If rightly tapped, healthcare will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI revolution.
AI is capable of facilitating easy and secure access to patient medical data, understanding and analyzing their conditions. This ultimately helps improve accuracy and efficiency in the diagnosis and modernization of health care practices.
Problems faced by India's health sector:
1. Shortage of qualified healthcare professionals and services like qualified doctors, nurses, technicians, and infrastructure.
2. Non-uniform accessibility to healthcare across the country with physical access continuing to be the major barrier to both preventive and curative health services, and the glaring disparity between rural and urban India.
3. Affordability remains a problem in India's health care.
4. Reactive approach to essential healthcare largely due to lack of awareness, access to services, and behavioral factors
The government of India has been making a series of large-scale interventions to address India’s healthcare challenges, viz. transformation of 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centers, developing district hospitals to cater to long-term care for non-communicable diseases, Ayushman Bharat Mission, promoting e-health, etc.
AI-driven strategies and implementation can support these interventions in a positive way.
AI solutions can augment the scarce personnel and lab facilities; help overcome the barriers to access and solve the accessibility problem; through early detection, diagnostic, decision making, and treatment, cater to a large part of India.
Cancer screening and treatment is an area where AI provides tremendous scope for targeted large-scale interventions.
AI-based healthcare solutions can also help in making healthcare services more proactive – moving from “sick” care to true “health” care, with emphasis on preventive techniques
