National AI Policy for Healthcare in the Works, says NHA CEO

Dr Barnwal also emphasized the pivotal role of integrated digital platforms in enabling real-time monitoring, enhancing inter-state coordination, and ensuring scalable and efficient implementation of health schemes.

The government of India is in the process of developing a national policy for AI in healthcare aimed at scaling emerging technologies across healthcare.

The announcement was made by National Health Authority (NHA) CEO Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal during a recent event in Pune, Maharashtra.

Highlighting the potential of AI technologies, Dr Barnwal said, "Emerging technologies like AI can address critical health challenges, and this and this upcoming policy will provide a roadmap for its comprehensive application in health services."

In addition to AI-led healthcare transformation, Dr Barnwal also underscored the success of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY) in reducing the financial burden on citizens.

He reflected the scheme's seven-year journey, highlighting how data-driven transparency and AI were poised to shape the next phase of India.

Dr Barnwal also emphasized the pivotal role of integrated digital platforms in enabling real-time monitoring, enhancing inter-state coordination, and ensuring scalable and efficient implementation of health schemes.

Further, he also outlined key strategic priorities, which included the adoption of artificial intelligence in healthcare, auto-adjudication of claims, advanced data analytics, accelerated ABDM adoption, and sustained capacity building through the Digital Health Academy.

Emphasising the need for a paradigm shift, he called for a transition from a predominantly curative approach to one that is preventive and predictive, aligned with the vision of building a resilient healthcare system under Viksit Bharat 2047.

Additionally, several initiatives were unveiled during the event, which included the release of a comprehensive Compendium of Guidelines to streamline and standardize AB PM-JAY implementation, the unveiling of the NHCX Strategy Paper aimed at enabling a unified and interoperable health claims ecosystem, and the release of the ABDM Index Reference Guidebook, which seeks to facilitate structured assessment of ABDM implementation across States and Union Territories.

Furthermore, the NHA Digital Health Academy was launched as a national platform aimed at building a skilled and future-ready healthcare workforce.

In a parallel development, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CHAKRA (Center for Health Applied Knowledge and Research Autonomy) and NABH to strengthen training, research, and institutional capacity.

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