A new industry survey shows that Indian hospitals plan to significantly expand digital innovation investments, with patient experience and data-driven care emerging as top priorities.
The CII-EY HealthTech Survey 2025 has found that hospitals in India are preparing to raise IT innovation spending by 20–25 per cent in the next two to three years. Nearly half of healthcare providers already dedicate between 20 and 50 per cent of their IT budgets to digital innovation, reflecting the sector’s shift from pilot projects to scalable, outcome-focused technologies. The survey was released at the CII Hospital Tech 2025 Summit in Mumbai by Goa’s health minister Vishwajit Rane, who highlighted state-level initiatives such as AI-based tuberculosis screening and free medicines for the underprivileged as examples of healthtech deployment.
The report noted that hospitals are prioritising three investment areas: improving patient experience, enhancing clinical outcomes through technology, and enabling data-driven decision-making. Over 70 per cent of respondents identified artificial intelligence as a key focus, with clinical documentation, data analysis, decision support systems, and imaging among the top applications. Decision support (64 per cent) and AI-driven imaging (60 per cent) were also cited as high-growth areas.
At the same time, workforce capability building and IT upskilling remain the largest challenges, flagged by nearly 60 per cent of hospitals. Data integration, cybersecurity, and adoption of business intelligence tools were also highlighted as pressing issues. “Healthcare leaders are clearly moving away from pilots to practical, scalable use cases that can improve efficiency and drive data-driven care. Smart hospitals of the future will be patient-centric, efficient, and health outcome focused,” said Ankur Dhandharia, Partner, Healthcare, EY-Parthenon India.
Adoption of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) remains uneven. While half of the hospitals surveyed reported partial adoption, 40 per cent are still at the planning stage, underscoring gaps between policy frameworks and provider readiness. The report recommended a phased approach to building “smart hospitals,” guided by EY’s “5S framework”: scalable infrastructure, seamless patient engagement, strategic data usage, strengthened security, and sustainable operations.
Collaboration will be critical in scaling these initiatives, said Joy Chakraborthy, Chairman of CII HospiTech 2025. “The next wave of healthcare delivery will be defined by how quickly we bridge existing gaps and enable hospitals to scale innovation without compromising patient trust or data security.”
For policymakers, investors, and hospital administrators, the findings underscore both the urgency and complexity of digital transformation. As hospitals step up technology spending, balancing innovation with training, governance, and affordability will determine how effectively India’s healthcare system leverages digital tools to improve patient outcomes at scale.
