Addressing rural health challenges with AI-tools: Arindam Sen, CEO and Director, Heartnet India

Robust technological infrastructure is the need of the hour to overcome the healthcare challenges in rural areas. Arindam Sen, CEO and Director, Heartnet India, gives an insight into the challenges hindering the rural health set-up and how PPPs, private players, start ups etc can bring a revolution in addressing the challenges

The Health Dynamics of India 2022-23 report, published in September 2024, highlights a significant crisis in rural healthcare. In community health centres (CHCs) in 757 districts serving almost 1.6 Lakh people, 80 per cent of specialist doctor positions are still vacant. The report further revealed that there were 17,551 (79.9 per cent) specialists available, compared to just 4,413 specialists as of March 2023.

Paediatricians, gynaecologists, surgeons, and physicians are in great demand; rural CHCs require 5,491 specialists in each area. There are currently only 913 surgeons working, an 83.3 per cent disparity. Similarly, there are only 1,442 gynaecologists available, a 74.2 per cent shortfall. Physicians are in a significantly worse position with only 992 in place, which is an 81.9 per cent gap.

Chronic illnesses like non-communicable diseases (NCD) are another big concern in rural India, as 60 per cent of deaths occur due to heart and lung disorders, strokes, cancer, and diabetes. This means that 5.8 million Indians each year lose their lives due to these diseases and one in every four people risk dying young even before reaching 70. This underscores the numbers as 35 per cent of outpatient visits and 40 per cent of hospitalisations are related to these disorders.

NCDs might cost India more than $4.58 trillion between 2012 and 2030, which calls for action.

Due to improper care of mothers and babies and poor sanitation across rural India regions still face higher risks of diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, TB and lung infections. Every Beat Counts report reveals that the CVD mortality rate in rural India is 200 per 1000 which is also alarming considering challenges like high costs, and limited resources in rural regions.

Challenges Hindering Rural Healthcare Development in India

70 per cent of Indians live in rural areas, where many people cannot access healthcare because of a lack of educated medical personnel, a lack of suitable medical equipment and a paucity of necessary medications. In these regions, access to advanced diagnostics is limited, and healthcare frequently depends on simple screenings like blood pressure and blood sugar checks. This disparity frequently leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment, which exacerbates long-term health issues.

Addressing rural India's healthcare challenges with AI considering India’s healthcare sector growth, rural India still faces certain obstacles including limited infrastructure, poor accessibility, and high costs.

However, with AI these can be managed by enhancing diagnostics and treatment options and lowering healthcare expenses as AI can help with early diagnosis of heart diseases and other chronic illnesses with AI-enabled ECG monitors, AI wearable devices and telemedicine for remote monitoring and consultations.

Private Players and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)

AI is also proving itself beneficial in MedTech as it is enhancing diagnoses, remote patient monitoring, and device accuracy. As per reports, 36 per cent of firms have adopted AI solutions, indicating that the technology is still in its infancy. The proof-of-concept (PoC) stage is where half of these are currently, with intentions to scale.

Healthcare providers have a higher adoption rate at 68 per cent, but most implementations (92 per cent) are still at the PoC stage. AI helps clinicians reduce misdiagnoses and provide personalised treatments. The Government of India’s Rs 64,000 crore initiative to establish 22 AI Institutes for Precision Medicine further emphasizes AI’s role in advancing healthcare.

Technology Providers and Startups

Providers of AI solutions assist healthcare organisations by providing analytics, cloud storage, and scalable platforms. Many new businesses and startups are focusing on healthcare IT and analytics to increase service delivery and operation ability while healthcare organisations are focusing on particular applications. As B2B companies are continuously working for advancements in AI for healthcare this will further improve patient outcomes and system performance.

Challenges for Private B2B Players in Implementing AI Tools in Rural India:

● Lack of reliable infrastructure, including poor internet connectivity and power supply, slows telemedicine and digital health initiatives.

● Rural areas are underserved due to the high cost of sophisticated diagnostic equipment.

● Low digital skills and lack of tech knowledge make it hard for people to use digital health tools.

Opportunities and Challenges for Private Telehealth in Rural India

Leveraging AI, healthcare providers can enhance operational productivity improve accuracy and speed and promote embracing telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. AI can incorporate electronic health records to support preventive care, deliver personalised treatment and help in medicine prescriptions.

In the long term, AI can drive universal healthcare coverage and improve public health. However, realising AI’s full potential requires foundational elements: infrastructure, skills, planning, scalability, and regulatory frameworks.

Healthcare organisations in India grapple to find a balance between access, quality, and affordability. As focusing on one affects the other, however, with the use of AI, this 'Iron Triangle'; can be broken by lowering costs, raising accessibility, and boosting quality.

Key AI Solutions:

1. Remote monitoring, diagnosis, AI-enabled hospital management, and virtual triage

2. AI medical scribes, healthcare simulations, and pharma R&D

3. Therapist and conversational AI chatbots, continuous health monitoring

Telehealth/Teleconsultation: B2B Prospects in Healthcare Innovation

B2B AI technology providers are helping healthcare enterprises overcome AI implementation challenges, boost efficiencies, and enhance service delivery. Many tech service providers focus on platform-based and machine-learning solutions with cloud infrastructure for safe data storage and analytics. This reflects the importance of AI in healthcare organisations’ workflow.

Through product-based solutions and a move toward product-as-a-service models, product tech businesses are increasing the scope of their AI services. Open innovation ecosystems and long-term partnerships are driving digital change. Startups are using these to improve diagnosis accuracy, streamline processes, enable early disease detection, and personalise treatments. In healthcare, AI tools created by companies are preferred over open-source ones.

Key focus areas for AI-driven healthcare B2B startups include:

● Healthcare IT & Analytics: Hospital Information Systems, EMR/EHR (Electronic

Medical Record/Electronic Health Record), LIMS (Laboratory Information

Management System), AI-based Monitoring Systems

● Telehealth: Remote Monitoring, AI Assistive Care, Digital Therapeutics

● Diagnostics: AI-powered Imaging, Early Detection Systems

● Medical Devices: Wearables, Point-of-Care Devices, Surgical Robotics, IoMT

● Telemedicine: AI Chatbots, Virtual Assistants, Telepresence Consulting

● E-pharmacy: Online Marketplace for Prescription Drugs, OTC Products

● Personalized Therapeutics: Genomics, AMR, Precision Oncology

The Indian healthcare system must use AI to its full potential while fostering collaborations with B2B businesses, tech service providers and expanding HPC systems, improving broadband in rural areas, and adopting cloud-based platforms.

Standardisation of EHR systems, dedicated AI budgets, and structured pilot projects with B2B players are crucial for successful AI deployment.