New Delhi, 16 February (H.S.): Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava asserted on Monday that Artificial Intelligence holds immense potential to alleviate the burden on healthcare workers and strengthen physician-patient relationships—rather than supplanting them—during a high-level panel on Scaling AI for Public Health Impact: Public-Private Partnership at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Bharat Mandapam.
Citing transformative tools like MadhuNetrAI for AI-driven diabetic retinopathy screening, AI-enabled handheld X-rays and Cough Against TB (CA-TB) acoustic devices for tuberculosis detection, alongside AI-integrated surveillance for rapid epidemic alerts, Srivastava highlighted Centres of Excellence at AIIMS Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, and AIIMS Rishikesh.
Digital Health Ecosystem Milestone
Emphasizing the National Health Policy's vision for optimal health standards, operationalized via the National Digital Health Blueprint's open standards, interoperability, privacy-by-design, and generative AI adoption, she noted Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) as robust digital public infrastructure—with 85.9 crore+ ABHA accounts linked to 87.8 crore+ records across 1.80 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and primary care integration.
AI-assisted e-Sanjeevani has enabled 44.9 crore+ teleconsultations via 2.2 lakh+ providers, establishing the world's largest primary healthcare telemedicine initiative.
Fraud Detection and Systemic Efficiency
National Health Authority CEO Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal complemented by stressing AI's role in enhancing public health program efficiency through beneficiary identification, claims streamlining, fraud detection, and utilization monitoring—bolstering transparency and performance via interoperable platforms with robust data governance and privacy safeguards.
The discussion focused on predictive analytics, early detection, telemedicine, data management, and real-time public health surveillance, urging public-private synergy for Viksit Bharat@2047.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
