Global healthcare leader Prof. Eyal Zimlichman shares insights on how India can leapfrog healthcare delivery using AI and digital care models.
Eyal Zimlichman
Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, MD, is a leader in global healthcare transformation, driving the integration of innovation, AI, and new care models across health systems worldwide. Mid-Day sat down with Prof. Zimlichman ahead of his upcoming trip to India, which includes a plenary address at the International Health Dialogue conference in Hyderabad.
1. What opportunities do you see for change in the Indian healthcare system?
India’s healthcare system faces persistent challenges, including unequal access and rising costs, which call for a rethinking of how care is delivered. Rather than replicating the capital-intensive infrastructure of traditional models, India has an opportunity to adopt a more digital, decentralised, and inclusive approach. By leveraging technology, the country can develop scalable solutions that reach underserved populations without inheriting the inefficiencies of legacy systems.
2. What does a technology-driven healthcare system look like?
A digital-first healthcare model reimagines the delivery of care by integrating AI and technology throughout the patient journey. From early diagnostics and clinical decision-making to remote monitoring, imaging, and precision medicine, AI is transforming outcomes. This approach allows providers to deliver high-quality, efficient, and personalised care, even in rural or low-resource settings.
3. What advantages does India have that could help the country build a more modern and inclusive healthcare system?
India benefits from a digitally connected population, a dynamic start-up ecosystem, outstanding technical talent, and a dedicated healthcare workforce. The population’s digital fluency enables rapid adoption of new technologies, while local innovators are well-positioned to create practical solutions tailored to community needs. With the right support, India can scale these innovations quickly, improving access and reducing healthcare disparities across the country.
4. Why might investing in traditional infrastructure alone fall short of meeting India’s healthcare needs?
Expanding hospitals and increasing specialist numbers is no longer a sustainable strategy. Even in high-income countries, this model has led to soaring costs, clinician burnout, and inequitable access. India has the opportunity to leap ahead by investing in low-cost, high-impact digital tools that enable remote diagnosis and care delivery. Mobile technologies, AI diagnostics, and telemedicine platforms can extend care to communities at scale, reduce unnecessary hospitalisations, improve system-wide efficiency, and drastically improve population health.
5. What kinds of digital tools are already making a difference in low-resource or remote settings?
New solutions are being designed for ease of use, affordability, and seamless integration into clinical workflows. AISAP’s AI-guided cardiac ultrasound, for example, can be used with standard point-of-care devices and basic smartphones, enabling real-time imaging and analysis in remote clinics by trained non-specialists. These tools are transforming care in specialties such as cardiology, radiology, pulmonology, and paediatrics. Additionally, digital tools - from education and support to chronic disease management - are available directly to patients, enabling greater adherence and resulting in reduced hospital dependence, lower costs, and improved outcomes. We are also seeing growing use of digital tools to decentralise and digitise clinical trials, enabling broader participation and faster research execution. Companies such as Paradigm Health are using AI to connect patients with clinical trials directly through healthcare providers, which is particularly relevant for India given its position as a major global hub for clinical research, with nearly 95,000 trials registered since 2000.
6. How might remote care and digital tools change the role hospitals play within the wider health system?
Remote monitoring and home-based care are redefining the role of hospitals. No longer the sole locus of care, hospitals can evolve into centres of excellence for complex cases, research, and training. Routine care and prevention can shift to communities, homes, and rural clinics, relieving pressure on hospitals and allowing them to focus on what they do best. This transition makes healthcare more accessible, especially across underserved regions. An example of a digital tool that can increase access to care and redefine a hospital’s role within the wider health system is Datos, a telemedicine platform that brings together monitoring, care delivery, and patient engagement, enabling clinicians to design and adapt remote care programmes to support hybrid care across a wide range of acuity levels in a broad and affordable way.
7. How can hospitals in India begin to integrate innovation into their everyday operations?
Indian hospitals can drive innovation by establishing structured pathways for clinicians to identify challenges and test new ideas. Leadership must foster a culture that values creativity, collaboration, and experimentation. Partnering with start-ups, universities, and technology companies brings new perspectives and capabilities into the hospital setting. Most importantly, hospitals must create an environment where it is safe to try, fail, and learn, because this is how real progress takes root.
8. What lessons from your work at ARC could be useful for healthcare innovation efforts in India?
One of the key takeaways from ARC is the importance of empowering frontline clinicians to lead innovation, as their first-hand understanding of patient needs allows them to develop practical, scalable solutions. This model can be highly effective in India, which has a large talent pool of accomplished clinicians and technicians, as well as a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem with numerous healthcare start-ups already emerging from institutions such as IIT Delhi and AIIMS. The combination of clinical expertise, engineering talent, and an entrepreneurial mindset makes the ARC model particularly well-suited to India’s context. However, unlocking its full potential requires a cultural shift within healthcare systems. Innovation must be embraced as a core value, with providers encouraged to question old practices, think creatively, and take ownership of new ideas. Only by changing the culture of care delivery can meaningful, lasting improvements take place.
9. Explain how the transformation model can also be beneficial economically.
Hospitals have traditionally been viewed as cost centres, but when positioned as hubs of innovation, they become engines of economic growth. At ARC, hospital-driven innovation has led to the creation of over 100 start-ups, generating high-value employment in software, data science, and engineering. These ventures attract capital, generate revenue, and allow profits to be reinvested in clinical care. Hospitals that adopt this model contribute not only to public health, but also to broader social and economic development at the local level.
Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, MD, is the Founder and Director of ARC, and Chief Transformation, Innovation, and AI Officer at the world-leading Sheba Medical Center, as well as the founder and co-chair of the Future of Health (FOH) community.
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