Committed to using AI to positively disrupt way we diagnose, treat and care for patients: Shobana Kamineni of Apollo Hospitals

New Delhi: Apollo Hospitals is investing extensively in new age technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to create new medical benchmarks in disease prediction, diagnosis accuracy, reduced patient in-time and advanced home care, Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said.

She said a good example of this is its preventive health programme, 'ProHealth', which uses a superior AI engine to go one step ahead of generic health check-ups by predicting potential health risks and helping patients "truly own their health".

"Our 40 years' worth of insights on patient care is our biggest differentiator and we are committed to using the power of AI to positively disrupt the way we diagnose, treat and care for our patients," Kamineni told PTI.

Huge shifts are taking place for hospitals, from inpatient to outpatient care and from outpatient to home care all over the world. Kamineni feels healthcare organisations must elevate their tech agendas to explore emerging digital technologies that provide the right infrastructure for continuous care.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. What role are digital platforms and solutions playing in the Indian healthcare sector today, and how has Apollo embraced new technologies?

A: Apollo is firmly committed to driving innovation and growth in healthcare, across digital and physical touchpoints.

Our surgical abilities and successes are unmatched – for instance, we have invested in 18 robotic surgical systems and successfully conducted 10,000 plus robotic-assisted surgeries in India, significantly reducing overall patient hospital stay by enabling faster recovery.

Likewise, Apollo Proton Cancer Centre is the first and only proton therapy centre in South Asia and Middle East and it is India's first Joint Commission International accredited cancer hospital. With this, patients have access to this cutting-edge treatment at a significantly lower cost than the West.

This commitment to innovation and care has also led to a significant increase in the influx of international patients to our facilities, further aiding India in its goal of becoming a global medical value destination.

The digital technologies with Apollo 24|7 have also enabled us to envision a holistic healthcare system for people. With this, we have been able to truly create an ecosystem where a person can get everything, virtually and physically.

Whether they want a doctor consult, medicines, or a diagnostic test, it's available, while maintaining health records all in one place. It has helped us become an integral part of people's lives. So, apart from building a good business, we are making healthcare more ubiquitous and affordable.

Q. How are digital and emerging technologies at Apollo Hospitals bringing new innovations to life?

A: Apollo has been at the forefront of adopting and leveraging digital and emerging technologies to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

We are using IoT (Internet of Things) devices to monitor patients' health remotely, track medication adherence, and alert healthcare providers to any potential health issues. We have also developed a smart hospital system that uses IoT sensors to monitor various aspects of the hospital, such as temperature, humidity, and air quality, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for patients and staff.

We have developed an AI-powered tool called 'Ask Apollo AI' which uses natural language processing to answer patients' queries and guide them to appropriate healthcare services.

Q. How are you leveraging big data, AI/ML to enhance customer experience? How important will technology be as a key differentiator in healthcare?

A: We are investing extensively in AI/ML to create new medical benchmarks in disease prediction, diagnosis accuracy, reduced patient in-time and advanced home care.

For instance, our one-of-a-kind preventive health programme, 'ProHealth', uses a superior AI engine to go one step ahead of generic health check-ups by predicting potential health risks and helping patients truly own their health.

We also recently launched Apollo Clinical Intelligence Engine - a clinical decision support tool, open to use by all doctors across India on Apollo 24|7's platform. The Clinical Intelligence Engine is capable of analysing vast amounts of data to help identify patterns which may be missed otherwise, enabling doctors to be prompter and more precise for better clinical outcomes.

Our 40 years' worth of insights on patient care is our biggest differentiator and we are committed to using the power of AI to positively disrupt the way we diagnose, treat and care for our patients! The biggest advantage of tech integration is that it allows healthcare organisations to be a part of an individual's complete health journey and not merely on a hospital bed. Huge shifts are taking place for hospitals, from inpatient to outpatient care and from outpatient to home care.

What was once done in a hospital room may be done in offices or in homes, including procedures such as chemotherapy and X-rays. A lot of hospital care is becoming more mobile. Healthcare organisations must elevate their technology agendas to explore emerging digital technologies that provide the right infrastructure to provide continuous care.

Q. What are the most memorable moments when you look back at the journey of Apollo, and what are the key milestones?

A: When I look back at Apollo's journey of almost four decades, it is humbling to note the immense growth that we've achieved since we started our journey - from a 150-bed hospital in erstwhile Madras.

On a bedrock of relentless innovation and our unwavering commitment to patient care, we grew our network of hospitals and medical centres and also actively expanded our touchpoints to be able to serve our patients anywhere, anytime.

With patient care at its centre, Apollo today is the world's largest vertically integrated healthcare platform with a massive footprint across hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, pharmacies, telemedicine centres, education, research, global projects and more.

Since the inception of Apollo, it has been my privilege to champion special initiatives and build three billion-dollar verticals for the Apollo Group.

In 1987, with a focus to ensure access to safe medicine, I led the development of Apollo Pharmacy which has now become the pharmacy of India with 5000-plus stores, across 600 cities and capability to deliver medicines to more than 19,000 pin codes.

It was heartening to see Apollo Pharmacies become a lifeline for millions in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the teams delivered medicines directly to homes every single day.

I also founded and served as the chairperson of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, India's only standalone health insurance company and steered the business for nine years, before its merger with HDFC ERGO.

We are now on a very exciting journey with Apollo 24|7. Apollo 24|7 is India's fastest-growing and largest omni-channel digital healthcare company, with a user base of over 25 million, focused on providing best-in-class consumer experience for all healthcare needs.

Q. What strategy are you driving to make Apollo a healthcare leader, and an agile and self-sustaining organisation?

A: At Apollo, we have always believed in harnessing the power of innovation and being able to pivot the business models to best serve unmet healthcare needs of the country.

Our values have been instrumental in taking Apollo's care model just beyond hospital infrastructure — scaling clinical protocols, retail health, medical education, embracing digital health, and working to protect and serve societies by sharing best practices.

We firmly believe in the power of omni as healthcare models cannot scale if they are not anchored in the duality of physical and digital. Primary care, diagnostics, secondary and tertiary care, and retail health, all linked and enabled through a dynamic integrated digital platform are pivotal in the present day and future ahead too.

Q. How has Apollo Hospitals grown over the past decades, and what have been the notable trends during and post Covid?

A: We are invested in supporting our patients through every part of their healthcare journey - 72 hospitals, 5,500-plus pharmacies, over 200 clinics and diagnostic centres, 150 telemedicine centres as well as 25 million plus users on Apollo 24/7 makes us the world's largest vertically integrated healthcare provider and ensures we offer the best care at every touchpoint.

The greatest shift with the pandemic has been undoubtedly towards digital health. Customer adoption has seen exponential growth, and companies across the spectrum are exploring emerging digital technologies. We believe this can greatly improve access and disrupt the metrics of healthcare as a whole.

Digitisation is also enabling doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals in driving greater efficiencies. In India, 60 per cent of hospitals, 75 per cent of pharmacies, and 80 per cent of doctors are in urban areas.

This creates a rural 'famine' for health, but we can change this metric with better accessibility through digital health.