Artificial intelligence, genomic tools, and new-age technology are rewriting the script of modern healthcare, but the transition is bringing its own mix of hope, caution and urgency. At THE WEEK Health Summit 2025's panel discussion, “Looking Ahead: The Future of Medicine", leading clinicians and health-tech experts examined how India can prepare for the next decade of medical transformation.
Dr Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, set the tone by saying that AI has already become inseparable from clinical practice. “Today, no one in the medical field is doing anything without AI,” he said. “Used well, it can read medical images within minutes and analyse vast amounts of data. AI is here to stay. If we don’t adapt, we will perish, but it is not going to take over us. We will remain in control.”
Ballal stressed that India’s healthcare ecosystem is deeply price-sensitive, and any new technology should also benefit the common man. “Every new drug comes with significant costs. Technology should make treatment more affordable,” he said. The urban–rural divide, he noted, is what gave rise to telemedicine. “People from remote areas were able to consult me without travelling long distances.”
Recalling the pandemic, he added that Covid-19 proved how much could be achieved through coordination alone. “The Government of Karnataka brought together experts from the private and public sectors. District offices were connected without any fancy equipment. Just by uniting systems, we improved outcomes by nearly 50 per cent.”
Dr Paul Henry from Naruvi Hospitals warned that while technology is advancing rapidly, the human touch still remains central to healthcare. “The human touch is still the most important aspect of being a doctor,” he said.
However, Henry expressed concern that many young doctors speak less to patients and more to screens. “Doctors walk in, deliver the diagnosis, and walk out. Technology should work as a backend work rather than it being a frontend, we cannot lose the doctor–patient relationship.”
Despite these shifts, Henry acknowledged that technology is helping people act faster. “People now recognise symptoms like left-sided chest pain or stroke indicators and seek help within the crucial window. Technology is contributing to social benefit.”
Dr Ritu Jain, Director, Vardhman Medicare, underlined the dual nature of AI in the hands of patients. “AI is a good guide for clinicians, but it is often misused by the masses. Patients now self-diagnose, such as ‘delirium’ or other things that are detected by them with regular symptoms because they read it online,” she said. With gynaecology increasingly dealing with epigenetic rather than genetic disorders, Jain believes predictive algorithms will be vital. “The best doctors can now reach the most unreachable. An ECG can be analysed remotely. Preventive knowledge on mobile phones will dramatically improve responses to illness.”
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Dr Nitin Kansal, Medical Director and HOD, Cardiology, Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital, Jaipur, echoed these concerns while emphasising that AI’s usefulness depends entirely on the quality of data. “Its decisions are only as good as the inputs,” he said. He pointed out that most cutting-edge medical technologies are costly because they are developed abroad. “For affordability, innovation must happen in India. Today, advanced tools are still mostly urban. For AI to truly transform healthcare, it must be locally developed and widely distributed.”
Dr.Siddharth Shanker Sood, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology / Cellular Therapies, Fortis Hospitals Limited, said, "The challenge is that technology is not being used adequately everywhere. As machine learning and AI companies advance, many of them tend to refine their products for high-end customers only. What I want is for AI to solve at least one major problem in a way that ensures people across the spectrum — not just the wealthy — are served equally. Access must be universal.”
The panel overall agreed on one point: the future of medicine is transforming quickly, but whether it becomes equitable and patient-centred will depend on the choices India makes today.