AI Can Cut Healthcare Costs, Boost Access: Top Gastroenterologist
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to make healthcare more affordable and accessible while improving patient care and medical research, according to renowned gastroenterologist Dr D Nageshwar Reddy. He was delivering the 16th foundation day lecture at the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education on Friday.
Dr Reddy, chairman of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, emphasised that AI should be seen as a tool to assist healthcare professionals, not replace them. It can enhance diagnosis, treatment, education, and patient monitoring.
He noted that AI is already transforming areas such as drug discovery, radiology, telemedicine, precision medicine, genomics, cancer detection, and remote patient monitoring. The drug discovery process, which once took decades, has been reduced to a few years thanks to AI.
“AI will not replace doctors, but doctors who know how to use AI will replace those who don’t,” Dr Reddy said, pointing to the slow adoption of AI among doctors.
He highlighted specific AI initiatives, including a medical information robotic assistant and iSAVE, an early warning system that continuously monitors critical patient parameters and alerts doctors.
Dr Reddy also discussed AI's role in addressing the growing burden of fatty liver disease in India. AI can enable affordable screening using simple clinical parameters instead of expensive diagnostic tests. He added that AI can assist in clinical documentation and analysis of CT scans.
Chancellor of ICFAI, C Rangarajan, observed that AI is still in its infancy and its long-term impact is yet to unfold. He cautioned that while AI is transforming education and learning, it must be used responsibly, recognising both its potential and limitations.
