• India sets the stage for broader international collaboration in harnessing AI for global health while promoting the advancement of traditional medicine practices worldwide.
• India’s Ayush Grid aims to streamline the integration of modern digital tools with traditional medicine systems, further advancing India’s healthcare infrastructure.
• One million “Digital Nurses” are to be deployed to enhance healthcare accessibility while reducing costs
• Whether the changes are good or bad probably depends on how much they help or hinder your ability to do your job.

Jalandhar: With the innovative Artificial Intelligence tools, Healthcare is presently progressive in providing more awareness; efficiency in delivering care; identification of developing complications; pinpointing diagnosis of diseases time before; and, the latest approaches for interventions.

AI is being used to support healthcare professionals in diagnosing and treating patients by identifying patterns in a large amount of data. Development of Machine learning algorithms to analyze medical images, detect diseases, and predict patient outcomes. As such, continuously improving clinical decision-making and streamlining administrative processes as well. It detects patterns across vast populations, leading to personalized care that boosts overall health outcomes.

Presently, it is being utilized to increase speed and accuracy in analyzing medical imaging data X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, thus assisting healthcare professionals in exact and swift diagnoses. Even, ‘Nursing’ is also seeing the involvement of AI.  In the future, some nursing functions could be handled by an autonomous Digital Nurse.

Going through various searches, we have come across an interesting topic concerning AI which highlights “AI instead of a chronic care nurse”…… Generated Health and the College of William & Mary have joined forces to develop next-generation AI, aiming to revolutionize the automation of “care coordination”. 
The focal point of this initiative is the creation of synthetic patient data to train an autonomous digital nurse using generative AI and reinforcement learning. It is a type of machine learning where in this case, the digital nurse learns to make decisions by interacting with patients and clinical workflows. CEO of Generated Health shares: “The company’s mission is to deploy one million digital nurses to enhance healthcare accessibility while reducing costs. With clinical evidence from 200,000 patients, Generated Health has already demonstrated the efficacy of combining clinical protocols and AI for better health outcomes.
Presuming that it is important to integrate digital technologies in healthcare, as envisioned in the National Health Policy 2017, a two-day ‘Global Technical Consultation Group meeting on the theme: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Global Health: Advancing Traditional Medicine” was recently held in India.
Organized in hybrid mode, it concluded on an optimistic note about launching the technical brief on AI in Traditional Medicine by October 2024.

All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) organized the meeting, in collaboration with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) and the Department of Digital Health and Innovation (AI and digital frontiers unit).  The event brought together participants from 15 countries, alongside representatives from leading global organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Source: WIPO

As per an official note, by the next year, this cohort aims to come out with the WHO-WIPO guidance on AI and IP with traditional medicine as a use case, and a global repository on traditional medicine with the use of AI and Training Module on AI for traditional medicine experts.

In the inaugural session Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha emphasized the critical role of integrating digital technologies into healthcare. Highlighting the National Health Policy 2017, he underscored the inclusion of e-health, m-health, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance healthcare delivery systems. He also emphasized the policy envisions leveraging these tools to promote the exchange of information about Ayush services and practitioners, bolstering traditional community healthcare.

Source: Twitter

Vaidya Kotecha elaborated on the vision of Ayush Grid as a comprehensive IT backbone for India’s traditional medicine sector, in line with the principles of Ayushman Bharat. The Ayush Grid aims to streamline the integration of modern digital tools with traditional medicine systems, further advancing India’s healthcare infrastructure.

Prof. Tanuja Nesari, Director of AIIA, held: “This global consultation is an invaluable opportunity to refine the draft policy on AI in traditional medicine. With inputs from diverse regions and sectors, we are optimistic about launching the technical brief by October 2024.” Dr. Manoj Jhalani, Director of Health Systems at WHO SEARO pointed out that AI, through advanced data analytics, can lead to the discovery of new therapeutic approaches and optimization of existing treatments, thereby enhancing the global relevance of traditional medicine.

Mr. Sameer Pujari, Lead (AI and Digital Frontiers), Digital Health and Innovations, WHO, focused on the work being done at WHO through the WHO-ITU-WIPO led Global Initiative on AI for Health. The initiative enables, facilitates, and implements AI in health through normative products, such as the upcoming technical brief on the use of AI in traditional medicine, building a community of practice to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, and working with governments for proper implementation of policies to govern AI in health.

Dr. Karthik Adapa, Regional Advisor, Digital Health, WHO SEARO, highlighted the rapid growth of AI in health, with persisting inequalities.  Referring to the Southeast Asia Region’s Government AI readiness index, the experts witnessed an exacerbating divide between developed countries and developing and under-developed countries, shedding light on the challenges, infrastructural limitations, privacy concerns, and the need for an ethical AI. India sets the stage for broader international collaboration in harnessing AI for global health while promoting the advancement of traditional medicine practices worldwide. Related distinguished guests from the United Nations, WHO, Canada, Malaysia, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Consultants (AI and Digital Frontiers), Innovators, Association of Medical Reporting Organisations (AMRO), and leading Contract Research Organizations (CROs) took part in deliberations.

Watch Dr. Karthik Adapa speaking on Enabling Public Healthcare With Emerging Technologies