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India's healthcare workforce, armed with digital upskilling, is poised for AI dominance, but there are certain creases in the system that need to be ironed out for more efficient integration. Policymakers and the key stakeholders must come together to scale investments and adopt a more targeted approach to ensure that every professional thrives in this digital age, which will gain momentum with time, said Deepak Sharma, co-founder & CEO, MedLern.
As AI weaves its way into everything from spotting diseases early to day-to-day patient care and hospital operations, we will need to prepare our doctors, nurses, and support staff to keep pace with the evolving times. The education sector is unprepared for this. Most colleges producing doctors and nurses are yet to even ensure digital preparedness of their graduates, Sharma told Pharmabiz in an email.
Healthcare professionals are dealing with massive shifts. With over 1.3 million doctors and millions more in nursing and allied roles, the sector is facing challenges that are being posed by skill gaps amid rising chronic diseases and tech-driven innovations like predictive analytics and telemedicine.
That's where agile, digital platforms come into the picture. The key to creating a workforce that's AI-savvy is not only to stay up to date through digital learning but also to utilize that learning in the most optimal ways directly relevant to their current and future roles, said Sharma.
The promise of AI is beginning to emerge globally can potentially lead to a complete reinvention in the long run. India’s ability to fulfil this depends on increasing the critical supply of high quality, well trained workforce, who are also future ready, he noted.
Digital platforms and India-specific initiatives like the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) offer bite-sized modules on AI ethics, machine learning in radiology, and data-driven decision-making. For instance, programmes by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and AIIMS integrate AI simulations, allowing doctors to practice virtual surgeries or interpret AI-generated reports, he said
Over the course of the last 12 months, MedLern has done significant work in this area in partnership with Nathealth, conducting Digital Health Master Classes in 10 cities for the clinical and operational leadership of hundreds of hospitals.
Also, online certification tied to groups like the National Medical Commission or CDSCO cover India's data privacy rules like the 2023 DPDP Act, our version of HIPAA and how to govern AI use. Few online platforms deliver blended programs combining e-modules with hands-on AI labs, covering pharmacovigilance in drug discovery, he noted.
Hospitals that are quick to adopt and adapt to AI are reaping the benefits of how technology is elevating the processes. Compliance training helps dodge tricky legal traps under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Digital training supercharges hospitals and their workforce in a way that makes learning more interactive and effective, which eventually improves patient outcomes. Starting at induction, new hires access onboarding portals with VR simulations for AI tool familiarization, which includes navigating electronic health records (EHRs) or robotic-assisted procedures, said Sharma.
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