AI is a necessity for quality healthcare: safety, responsibility, and ethics must lead
Varanasi - Feb 15, 2026
Anupriya Patel, Union minister of state for health and family welfare, said AI has moved from optional to essential in care delivery. She tied its role to India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and the goal of universal health coverage.
With India carrying nearly 20% of the global disease burden, she said AI can help make services more accessible, affordable, and consistent in quality. But adoption must be grounded in regulatory safeguards, data privacy, transparency, and capacity building across the workforce.
She pointed to ongoing work: telemedicine expansion, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, and development of India-centric, frugal, and scalable AI solutions. The message is clear: build tools that fit local realities and can scale safely.
At IMS-BHU's NCAIHC-2026
Patel addressed professors and students while inaugurating the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Health Care and Education at the KN Udupa Auditorium, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. The three-day meet, themed "AI for Viksit Bharat: Transforming Health Care and Learning," gathered academicians, clinicians, policymakers, technologists, and researchers from across the country.
Institutional next steps
BHU vice chancellor Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi called for moving beyond discussion to responsible integration inside the IMS-BHU health system. He proposed a dedicated task force to enforce safeguards, ensure regulatory compliance, and structure implementation, paired with preparedness and continuous learning.
Keep the human core
Guest of honour Daya Shankar Mishra, UP Ayush minister, acknowledged the pressure on Sir Sunderlal Hospital, which serves Varanasi, Purvanchal, and neighbouring states. He urged teams to protect compassion, patience, and human values while adopting new tools, expressing confidence that digital integration and AI will strengthen the hospital's role as a regional hub.
Reena Ashish, ministry of health and family welfare, and Prof S. N. Sankhwar, director, IMS-BHU, were also present.
What this means for your hospital or program
- Start with clear problems: triage and scheduling, imaging support, antimicrobial stewardship, referral coordination, and supply planning.
- Set guardrails early: consent workflows, de-identification, audit trails, model explainability, and bias monitoring.
- Upskill clinicians and managers: AI literacy, prompt practice, validation protocols, and incident reporting.
- Procure and integrate responsibly: evaluate performance by cohort, plan for human-in-the-loop supervision, and align with ABDM standards and APIs.
- Pilot small, measure outcomes, then scale: clinical safety board oversight, metrics on time-to-diagnosis, readmissions, patient experience, and cost per case.
Resources
- Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission - standards and building blocks for India's digital health ecosystem.
- WHO guidance on ethics and governance of AI for health - practical guardrails for safe use.
- AI upskilling paths by job role - structured options for clinicians, admins, and data teams.
Your membership also unlocks:
