AI and the undiscussed fallout

There is no doubt that MedTech and medical services in Bharat are reaching the critical mass essential for a successful take off. The imminent Gaganyaan mission indicates that even the sky will no longer be the limit!

AI, AI and AI. In most healthcare conferences , the term AI is constantly used, as a suffix and prefix. No doubt hyperboles and embellishments are necessary marketing tools. Doctors are urged to take the lead in adopting AI, before patients use it! MedTech devices will eventually become autonomous and standalone with built-in AI. SaaMD could be a reality sooner than later.

A Martian, would probably think that healthcare without IT and AI is malpractice on Terra firma! Deploying AI-enabled medical devices judiciously, carefully, sensibly, prudently, considerately and thoughtfully, would in the long run help answer the vexatious question, So what? In the 20th century, clinicians needed to be convinced that deployment of additional technology, improved outcomes for patients.

AI-enabled MedTech. Traditionally, healthcare sector has been conservative and slow in IT deployment. This is not so with AI-enabled MedTech devices. The classical Gartner hype cycle for emerging technologies represents Technology trigger, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment and plateau of productivity. We risk being in the peak of inflated expectations longer! The print and digital media have espoused the cause of AI-enabled MedTech so aggressively that the end user and ultimate beneficiary believe that without these, healthcare would be in the Jurassic Park!.

Data and algorithm bias. Most algorithms are trained on manufacturer’s country data. Clinical trials done in India, could be misleading. Training and validating AI models with Indian contextual data is necessary. This would mitigate bias. Make in India for India, is essential for any AI product. Generative AI solutions are reshaping clinical workflows, diagnostics and patient care. Multi-modal AI could play a significant role in personalized treatments. AI could detect malnutrition through smartphones. However, this should not lead to following Marie Antoinette’s directive Give them cakes when informed about starvation in France.

Gone are the days when healthcare primarily evolved around the patient, nurse, and the doctor with minimal infrastructure support. Today a tertiary care hospital is run by a CEO, CXO, CIO, CMIO, CTO, CHRO, CFO, CISO, COO, CPO and a host of support staff. With AI-powered diagnostics and digital health platforms, and shift toward proactive, predictive, and personalized healthcare, the clinician will also be part of the team!

MedTech in healthcare is rapidly evolving. With opportunity comes responsibility. Despite its importance, MedTech is only a component of healthcare. Healthcare is not only about newer and newer technology–it is about leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to excellent patient care. With resilience and a shared vision, we need to embrace change and champion digital transformation, to develop an integrated healthcare ecosystem.

Not withstanding deployment of sophisticated tools, human touch, trust and ethical responsibility was part of true healing. Patients came to us, with implicit faith and trust. We empathised and sympathised with the family. Using our God-given limbic system, we got into their minds, understood their response and reaction to the disease. We developed an algorithm that factored in many variables, giving them adequate weightage. Maybe our lizard brain would not have thought of CSF molybdenum levels which my AI assistant is now suggesting !

The recent International Patient Safety Conference had as its theme HYPE to HOPE. It is gratifying that despite the AI excitement bordering on hysteria, HOPE (Healthcare Operations and Patient Experience) is still being discussed.

Tomorrow’s medical students will start their life with the Metaverse. AR, VR, AVR, XVR. Avatar and digital twins will be a major component of their vocabulary. Simulation laboratories with AI-enabled haptic sensation will transfer months of experience to a novice in one day. Perhaps trainee humanoids of the distant future will display all the emotions and interact, when told that they have a malignant brain tumour with a one-year survival rate of 5 percent. Till such time, during this period of transition where everything is AI, NI generated humanism also has to be taught. Let us never forget that it takes NI to properly deploy MedTech and medical services!