Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday described preventive healthcare as the “future model” of the healthcare system, citing changing disease patterns, rising treatment costs and India’s ageing population as key reasons for shifting the focus towards early detection and prevention.
“These diseases do not develop in a day. They develop gradually in the body over years. High sugar, high cholesterol, fatty liver and borderline blood pressure are all warning signs.
He said around 35 crore people had so far received quality treatment under the scheme.
The future of healthcare lies in identifying these warning signs in time,” he said. He said diagnostic medicine was undergoing a major transformation with artificial intelligence, advanced medical imaging, molecular diagnostics, digital pathology, automation, genomics and data-driven healthcare. However, Singh cautioned that “technology alone could not define excellent healthcare” and stressed the “need to protect sensitive patient data, maintain transparency in the use of AI, avoid bias and give priority to patient safety”. Singh said India had a large pool of doctors, scientists, engineers and researchers, along with a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem and a vibrant startup environment, giving the country an opportunity to lead healthcare innovation.
