Can AI Bridge India’s Healthcare Gaps? MedTalks CEO Nilesh Aggarwal Thinks So
By Arunima Rajan
In an interview with Arunima Rajan, Nilesh Aggarwal, CEO, IJCP and Founder, MedTalks, talks about how AI is used to tackle healthcare challenges in India, including access to care and doctor shortages.
As the CEO of IJCP Group and co-founder of MedTalks, how do you see AI transforming healthcare communication and education? What specific AI technologies are you integrating into your platforms?
The doctor-patient ratio in India is skewed, more so in rural areas, where people go to quacks or indulge in self-diagnosis. At MedTalks, we aim to bridge this gap as a trustworthy platform for both healthcare professionals and patients. With AI, we are taking our offerings to the next level. For instance, AI-driven chatbots and symptom checkers help us provide instant responses to patient queries, thereby making healthcare more accessible. We personalize Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses through machine learning algorithms and provide healthcare professionals with content that is tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, we are also able to overcome language barriers through AI-powered real-time translation, which makes it easier to communicate with patients across various Indian regional languages. MedTalks has over 400,000 registered healthcare professional users and nearly 1,000,000 monthly patient visitors, making us a crucial resource in the healthcare landscape. Our platform has the largest consolidated medical video bank in India, featuring more than 11,000 videos with leading doctors.
MedTalks has reached millions with COVID-related information. How has AI contributed to this success, particularly in terms of content dissemination and audience engagement?
At MedTalks, we played a major role in spreading awareness and sharing best practices, during the pandemic through our innovative multilingual video content led by Dr KK Aggarwal. AI enabled us to narrow down some of the most common questions being asked across our social media platforms and tailor our video content accordingly. We also conducted free online OPDs, in collaboration with HCFI, wherein we used AI to analyse patients' symptoms from their registration forms. This helped us direct them to the appropriate online consultations.
Given your involvement with eMediNexus, how do you see AI enhancing the networking and knowledge-sharing capabilities among healthcare professionals?
AI can enhance networking and knowledge-sharing among healthcare professionals on platforms like eMediNexus. It helps analyse individual interests and sub-interests, and then connect professionals with like-minded peers, making it easier for them to network and collaborate. This enables professionals to engage with relevant people and share knowledge more effectively, leading to a richer and more focused exchange of ideas and expertise.
What role do you believe AI can play in addressing the doctor-patient ratio imbalance in India, especially in rural areas? How is MedTalks leveraging AI to bridge this gap?
AI has emerged as an important tool in addressing the doctor-patient imbalance in India. At MedTalks, it is helping us provide accessible and effective healthcare for everyone. AI-powered chatbots or clinical decision management tools available 24/7 in regional languages help answer basic health queries. They also provide instant support in case a doctor is not available thus reducing the pressure on healthcare professionals. Additionally, AI helps us personalize CME courses for doctors, empowering general practitioners to take on more responsibilities across different therapeutic areas and easing the burden on specialists.
With AI being a double-edged sword, what ethical considerations do you think are critical when implementing AI in healthcare, particularly in patient data management and privacy?
The primary concern around AI is ensuring the confidentiality and security of patient data. AI systems must comply with regulations like GDPR to protect personal health information from breaches or unauthorized access. Patients and healthcare providers must also understand how AI algorithms make decisions to build trust in AI-driven recommendations. Biased data can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and treatment recommendations. Patients should be fully informed about how their data will be used and have the option to opt out. Finally, AI should complement, not replace, human judgment, ensuring that healthcare professionals remain central to patient care.
How do you envision AI impacting the future of medical education and continuing professional development (CPD) in India? Are there any AI-driven initiatives you are currently working on?
AI is already making learning more personalized and accessible. For instance, a platform that adapts to your learning style, identifying areas where you excel and those that need more focus. AI achieves this by analysing your progress and tailoring the curriculum to suit your needs. Additionally, it enables continuing professional development (CPD) by tracking learning progress and suggesting areas for improvement. This targeted approach ensures that healthcare professionals stay updated with the latest medical advancements, ultimately leading to better patient care. We have partnered with a collaborator to conduct behavioral analysis of healthcare professionals across India and Southeast Asia. Through this partnership, we map the clinical interests of physicians in these regions and target them with relevant courses and CPD programs.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities for AI in healthcare in India, and how is the IJCP Group positioned to address them?
AI can make a substantial impact given the rising demand for healthcare, chronic illnesses and an aging population, coupled with a shortage of professionals. It can enhance personalized care, improve efficiency, and accelerate medical discoveries. AI can also analyse complex data within a short time frame, assist in precise diagnoses, and streamline patient care processes. However, there are challenges related to data quality, accessibility, and the integration of AI into existing healthcare systems. AI applications often face limitations in clinical settings due to their lack of the intuitive reasoning of human physicians. At IJCP, we focus on integrating AI seamlessly into healthcare practices, ensuring that data is accurately utilized and that AI systems comply with regulatory standards.
As an early-stage investor in healthcare startups, what AI innovations are you most excited about, and how do you see them shaping the healthcare landscape?
I am most excited about clinical decision-making tools and how they can be customized to India’s diverse population. I believe these can also contribute to real world data coming out of India for the world to use.