In a significant push to digitize healthcare, the Indian government is set to deploy an artificial intelligence-powered "clinical decision support tool" across approximately 70,000 public and private hospitals nationwide. The initiative, spearheaded by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), aims to standardize the quality of medical care and significantly reduce diagnostic and prescription errors.
The 'Smart Doctor': An AI Assistant for Clinicians
The tool, colloquially termed the "smart doctor," has been developed by the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. It functions as an intelligent digital assistant for physicians. By analyzing a patient's detailed medical history and symptoms, the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) suggests optimal care plans for long-term health conditions.
Its core functions include advising on the most suitable medications and their exact dosages. Crucially, it also flags potential contraindications, alerting doctors if a prescribed drug might be harmful or could adversely interact with other medicines the patient is taking.
"The CDSS is fundamentally a decision support mechanism designed to assist clinicians, not to override their judgment," explained a government official familiar with the rollout. "Developed by AIIMS, it uses a rule-based framework that allows doctors to cross-reference symptoms and protocols against a standardized database."
Addressing India's High Disease Burden
The nationwide deployment of this AI tool is particularly relevant given India's substantial burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Conditions like diabetes and hypertension are estimated to affect around 11.4% and 35.5% of the population respectively. These diseases often require meticulous, long-term medication management where precise dosing is critical to patient outcomes.
"By scaling this tool specifically for non-communicable diseases, we aim to minimize misdiagnoses and medical errors, while ensuring that the doctor’s final decision remains supreme," the official added. The National Health Authority (NHA), in a directive dated 9 December, has advised all states and Union Territories to activate this module in hospital software systems immediately.
Hospitals using software not on the approved ABDM list have been instructed to upgrade their systems for integration, with the Centre offering technical support. Dr. Alexander Thomas, founder of the Association of Healthcare Providers India, noted that the tool could act as a "clinical safety net" and serve as an educational aid, especially in busy or resource-limited settings.
Data Privacy and Safety Concerns Emerge
Despite the potential benefits, the plan for a nationwide rollout has sparked important questions regarding patient data privacy and security. Legal experts emphasize the need for robust safeguards to prevent potential overreach.
"If this system allows for the patient’s data to be collected without consent and used only in the event of an emergency, then there needs to be strong safeguards that prevent an overreach and abuse of personal data," said Akash Karmakar, a partner at Law Offices of Panag & Babu and senior advisor at Flint Global.
Karmakar suggested methods like data tokenization, where information is held by custodians who cannot decrypt it unless mapped to a specific, authorized request. He also highlighted the "product question" of whether there is sufficient public trust for the government to act as the sole data custodian, especially without clear, publicly available guidelines on permissible end-uses of the health data.
The digital infrastructure for this ambitious project is already expanding rapidly. As of August 2025, nearly 799 million Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created, with about 671.9 million health records linked digitally, laying a substantial foundation for the AI tool's integration.
