By Prabhat Prakash and Abhijeet Singh
New Delhi: As the healthcare industry is undergoing some radical transformations in the entire spectrum of patient care, beginning with the identification of diseases, disorders, or risks to the final recovery of patients, the diagnostics sector has been at the forefront of such transformations and arguably has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of such changes, leading to its unprecedented expansion both in terms of revenue and market share, along with influencing global healthcare initiatives and policy decisions.
Understanding such epochal changes and obtaining deeper insights into the potential hurdles and growth areas in the near future, ETHealthworld convened a panel discussion on ‘Advances in the Indian Diagnostics Sector: Opportunities and Challenges’ at the third edition of the India Diagnostics Summit.
The panel comprised Dr Harsh Mahajan, Founder & Chief Radiologist, Mahajan Imaging; Om Manchanda, Managing Director, Dr Lal Pathlabs Limited; Dr Avinash Phadke President, Technical & Mentor, Agilus Diagnostics; and Surendran Chemmenkotil, CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Limited. The panel was moderated by Aravindan Vasudevan, Co-Founder & COO, OneCell Diagnostics Pvt Ltd (ODX).
Covering varied areas such as radiology, genomics, pathology, etc, the experts shared their experiences with the challenges they encountered and delved into the trajectory of the diagnostics industry by explaining the instrumental shifts that have taken place over the years. They also talked about the potential growth opportunities and highlighted the increased role of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostics and its likely influence in the future.
Initiating the discussion, Vasudevan underlined the increased importance of diagnostics in the healthcare ecosystem by citing the examples of the COVID pandemic and forecasted the industry to “reach $25 billion by 2028, fueled by the rise in demand for preventive tests, penetration of insurance schemes, and technological innovations.”
Sharing his views on the growth areas of the future, Dr Mahajan said, “We are getting into the era of integrated diagnostics, which will help to provide differential diagnosis to physicians to use that data for effectively treating the patient.”
Responding to a query related to technological breakthroughs and their role in the future, Dr Mahajan said, “The advent of AI-based algorithms is going to transform the diagnostic sector.”
Elaborating on the integration of AI in diagnostics, he highlighted three broad areas, “One is the scanning of medical images and scans (MRI’s, CT scans, ultrasounds, etc) with a 10 times faster pace than earlier, Secondly, the identification of lesions, making the job of a radiologist much easier and ensuring greater accuracy; and lastly, assisting the professional in writing the reports, while later on, with advancements and regulatory approvals, it could write the reports independently as well.”
Manchanda voiced a similar stance over modern innovation, he highlighted three problems to which AI could substantially contribute, “beginning with a shortage of resources, particularly pathologists; secondly, increasing access to rural areas; and lastly, improving the quality.”
“Currently, in pathology, AI technology is used for image and pattern recognition, and is flooded with a lot of solutions, which can provide a different opinion if not replacing the doctors,” added Manchanda.
Covering the advances in genomics and its prospects, Dr Avinash Phadke shared, “Oncology or immunotherapy is driven by data and its analysis, and we can use predictive genomic panels to identify high-risk patients. Additionally, we are dealing with a huge epidemic of diabetes where we have no personalised medicines, so we can apply genomics studies to get statistical probability for such medications.”
Chemmenkotil shared key challenges and strategies to overcome the problems encountered in conducting diagnostic tests over a wide geographical space. He said, “One of the biggest challenges is maintaining standards and quality, which could be overcome by providing clear, uniform, and standard procedures across the labs. Another major challenge is managing the accuracy and quality of reports, which could be achieved through maintaining the calibration of equipment and upskilling human resources with time.”
“The increase in the willingness to spend on health and the advancements in technology are helping the overall growth of the industry, and the Indian diagnostic industry is poised to grow at 11–12 per cent in the next two years,” concluded Chemmenkotil.
Concluding the discussion, Dr Phadke emphasised, “There is a huge opportunity in infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Although we may be able to meet the deadline (end TB by 2025), the advent of molecular diagnostic methods and new drug regimes is going to be a game changer, and by the next three years we will be able to get rid of these two major health burdens.”
