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Handle with Care: AI in Healthcare is the New Current

• ByStartupStory     |    August 18, 2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the “new current” running through healthcare — powerful, transformative, and indispensable when harnessed correctly, but equally dangerous if mishandled. Just as electricity reshaped industries and societies in the last century, AI today is reshaping hospitals, diagnostics, treatment planning, and patient care.

The Expanding Role of AI

Healthcare is not limited to doctors and hospitals. It is a vast ecosystem of researchers, technologists, nurses, paramedics, therapists, diagnostics experts, and support staff. AI now touches every part of this system:

• Diagnostics & Imaging: AI-driven radiology and pathology tools are enabling early disease detection.

• Medical Devices & IoT: Sensors integrated with AI monitor patients in ICUs and predict risks before emergencies occur.

• Clinical Decision Support: Algorithms analyze trends, guide prescriptions, and support evidence-based interventions.

• Rehabilitation & Remote Care: AI-enabled physiotherapy, mental health bots, and home-based monitoring are transforming patient support.

At the Centre for Medical Innovation – GIMS, Greater Noida, India’s first public hospital-based Section-8 incubation centre, nearly 40 startups are incubated — with half of them focused on AI solutions. From telepathology to predictive analytics, they represent how quickly AI is embedding itself into healthcare.

Opportunities with Risks

Like electricity, AI has the power to improve lives on a massive scale. But the wrong application can erode trust and create risks:

• Data Privacy: Patient confidentiality must remain sacred.

• Ethical Use: AI must be built on Indian datasets to avoid bias and ensure local relevance.

• Human Touch: Machines can analyze, but they cannot feel. Empathy and compassion remain the irreplaceable art of medicine.

The Public Hospital Perspective

Public hospitals in India serve the largest and most diverse patient populations. For them, two priorities are critical in adopting AI:

1. Building Trust – Patients should feel secure in AI-assisted care.

2. Capacity Building – Training doctors, nurses, and staff to use AI responsibly.

CMI–GIMS is addressing these by giving startups access to real-world clinical validation, ethical mentoring, and patient-centric testing environments. This ensures that AI applications are not just innovative but also safe, compliant, and impactful.

The Way Forward

AI must remain assistive, not interventionist. It should empower clinicians, not replace them. India must now:

• Develop ethical, robust datasets.

• Train healthcare professionals in AI literacy.

• Establish strong compliance frameworks.

• Support Indian startups to compete on the global stage.

Conclusion

AI in healthcare is exactly like electricity: it lights up lives when harnessed with care, but it can shock if mishandled. The responsibility lies with doctors, innovators, and policymakers to ensure AI adoption remains ethical, inclusive, and patient-first.

Healthcare has always been about healing and as we embrace AI, we must never forget that empathy and ethics must remain the strongest current running through medicine.

By Dr. Rahul Singh, CEO, Centre for Medical Innovation – GIMS (Government of Uttar Pradesh)

 

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