Apollo's AI tools, currently in development, will assist healthcare professionals by analyzing EMRs for diagnoses, tests, and treatments, transcribing doctors' notes, generating discharge summaries, organizing schedules, and helping clinicians select the right antibiotics
Apollo Hospitals is reportedly ramping up its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) tools to automate routine tasks and ease the workload for doctors and nurses. The move is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and improving patient care by utilizing AI for tasks such as medical documentation and diagnostic support.
With over 10,000 beds across its hospitals, Apollo is already one of the largest healthcare providers in India. The company has dedicated 3.5% of its digital spend to AI over the past two years, and Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, revealed that they plan to increase this allocation in the coming year. "Our objective is to free up two to three hours a day for doctors and nurses through the use of AI," Reddy said in a recent interview.
According to Reuters, Apollo’s AI tools, still in the early stages of development, are designed to assist healthcare professionals by analyzing electronic medical records (EMRs) to suggest potential diagnoses, tests, and treatments. These tools will also aid in transcribing doctors' notes, generating discharge summaries quickly, and organizing daily schedules based on nurses’ input. In addition, the hospital is working on an AI-powered system that will help clinicians select the most appropriate antibiotic treatment.
AI-driven healthcare expansion
The hospital chain plans to increase its bed capacity by one-third over the next four years, with a portion of the additional revenue from this expansion earmarked for further AI investments. Apollo aims to integrate these AI tools without putting additional financial strain on the business.
While Apollo Hospitals leads the AI charge in India, other major hospital groups like Fortis Healthcare, Max Healthcare, and Medanta are also adopting AI technologies. However, they face challenges such as high implementation costs, inconsistent data formats, and the limited availability of electronic medical records, which slow the wider adoption of AI in healthcare, according to Joydeep Ghosh, partner at Deloitte India. Despite these hurdles, AI’s potential to improve healthcare delivery is driving the sector's interest in further technological advancements.
