NHA CEO Says AI Will Drive Healthcare Growth, Improve Last-Mile Access

According to the Economic Times, National Health Authority CEO Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal said, "The next phase of growth in healthcare will be driven by AI and its use across multiple touchpoints of care to empower the consumer and make health accessible to the last mile." Economic Times reported Barnwal said AI played a critical role in developing the initial blueprints for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). Economic Times also reported Barnwal encouraged healthcare organisations to register under PMJAY and to adopt the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) to streamline digital claims settlement.

Economic Times reported that the remarks came at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) session. CII Healthcare Council Chairman Dr Naresh Trehan said the 'Viksit Bharat' vision provides a multi-decade opportunity for India. Economic Times reported that former NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul stressed the need for robust policies governing AI in healthcare, and that Archana Vyas, India Country Director for the Gates Foundation, highlighted work to reduce avoidable maternal and child deaths.

Countries and large health systems integrating digital health architectures typically use AI across several technical layers: data ingestion and normalization, clinical decision support, claims automation, and patient engagement. Industry-pattern observations show that interoperability standards, secure data linkage, and verifiable identity services are common prerequisites for scaling AI-driven features across primary-to-specialty care pathways.

India's digital health initiatives, anchored by ABDM and large insurance schemes like PMJAY, create high-value data flows that can make AI applications more actionable at population scale. For practitioners, the combination of digital identity, claims exchange platforms like NHCX, and policy signals about AI governance matter more than any single model: they determine data access, validation, and the operational path for model deployment.

• •Adoption metrics for NHCX and registrations under PMJAY as proxies for operational integration
• •Policy developments or frameworks referenced by regulators for clinical AI governance
• •Pilot results where AI is applied to claims automation, triage, or maternal-child health outcomes

Industry observers and implementers will follow these indicators to assess whether policy, infrastructure, and clinical workflows line up to deliver the accessibility improvements referenced by Barnwal, Economic Times reported.