The AI vaccine How preventive care and artificial intelligence can shield India from soaring healthcare costs

Imagine a future where diseases are caught before symptoms, costs shrink before they explode, and AI becomes India's frontline doctor. This is preventive care reimagined, merging tech and foresight to heal a nation before it falls sick

- Saurav Kasera [e-mail]

In India, healthcare is facing a paradox. On one side, technological advancement is setting the stage for better and quicker diagnosis, while on the other side, a surge in healthcare cost is making it less accessible. To add on, a Lancet study has confirmed that the incidence of chronic diseases is rising at an unprecedented rate in India, thus further overburdening the country's healthcare system.

What is more unnerving is that the average cost of managing chronic disease is almost three-fourths of the monthly income of a poor rural household, thus pushing patients and their families into financial stress. Not just this, it also has a broader economic impact, threatening India’s dream of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy.

But what if there were a proactive solution against the rising tide, a way to prevent diseases even before they become costly?

The solution is simple and time-tested: prevention. We all have heard that prevention is better than a cure, right?

Adequate screening and early detection can play a vital role in preventing hospital bills from reaching several lakhs. However, scaling this across a population of 1.4 billion is a major challenge. This is where technological advancements are making a difference: Al is now enabling preventive care to reach a wider audience than ever before.

Preventive care: The first line of defense

The key to preventive care is anticipating health issues even before they arise or nipping them in the bud. The pillars of preventive care are vaccinations, regular health screenings, lifestyle management, and early interventions. The quicker a condition is detected, the better the chance to prevent complications.