BENGALURU, March 10, 2023.

Health and wellness knowledge platform, Happiest Health, hosted the 'Future of Medicine 2023', the first annual summit that shared insights from leading minds in medicine, research, and technology, to foster innovation in the healthcare industry. Happiest Health brought together expert speakers who discussed emerging trends in healthcare such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), human gut microbiome theories, stem cell genomics, bioinformatics and other fundamental pillars of healthcare on the cusp of shaping the future of health and medicine.

Speaking at the inaugural event, Ashok Soota, Chairman, of Happiest Health said, “Our vision with 'Future of Medicine' is to create an interactive experience that encourages industry leaders to explore the potential at the intersection of cutting-edge science and technology to improve human health. If we are to work towards a healthier tomorrow, the healthcare industry needs to collaborate to redefine the notion of wellness and medicine, the healthcare delivery model and the way various fields align to improve health outcomes and save more lives.”

“Healthcare and medicine are entering a completely new sphere. Technology like AI/ML and the availability of data from medical devices will create a paradigm shift in healthcare from disease-focused to a health-care-centric model,” said Dr. Paul Salins, Managing Director, Narayana Hrudayalaya Multispecialty Hospital & Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation, and Vice Chairman, Skan Research Trust in his keynote address. “AI, ML, and data will now do the heavy lifting of diagnosis, taking much of the burden off doctors. This shift will enable doctors to focus on giving patients the level of compassion and care they need over long term. The model of wellness and healthcare will transform from treating illnesses to managing wellness. Hospitals will rely more on physicians than specialists, and holistic modes of treatment will play a stronger role, over symptomatic treatment.”

Dr Jyoti Nangalia, Clinician Scientist and Consultant Haematologist, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, UK explained, “The mutations in blood cells make each blood cell unique, leaving us with a clear way to study age-related markers. This can help to detect onset of cancer or possibly find undetected cancer. Understanding the breadth of trajectories to adult blood cancers is still unknown, so studies like this can help improve the outcomes for blood cancers and blood disorders.”

With the paradigm shift of healthcare, as more universal data is available through AI/ ML and medical devices, there will also be a shift in health seeking behaviour–people will look more towards

managing their own health as compared to how to treat their illnesses. This increases the relevance of India's Ayurveda medicine as a new modern healthcare ecosystem.

Dr Narendra Pendse, Member BOG, Trans-disciplinary University, Bangalore, Medical Advisor, Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative medicine (I-AIM), Bangalore called for synergy and dialogue to break silos between all fields of medicine to explore whether theemerging field of Ayurveda biology can contribute to the advancement of Indian health science. “In the current world, where we can factor in macro-environment into health using technology and tools, Ayurveda can deliver personalised care at a mass scale, accounting for variations in geography and unique genetic make-up of each person. We need to build bridges between pure science, allopathy, naturopathy and Ayurveda to give everyone a sense of health and balance,” he said.

AI and ML capabilities are already shaping the future of medicine and are at the centre of many innovative offerings that will soon become a mainstay in the not-so-distant future. The summit concluded with an interactive panel discussion on the usage of AI and medical devices for smart healthcare. Among the speakers were Mr Graeme Brown, (Chief Business Officer, Quadram Institute Bioscience),Prof. Arjan Narbad(Transactional Microbiome Group Leader, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, England), Dr Yogesh Schouche (Principal Investigator of National Centre for Microbial Resource, National Centre for Cell Science), Dr Jyoti Nangalia (Clinician Scientist and Consultant Haematologist, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, UK), Dr Narendra Pendse (Rheumatologist, Ayurveda, /Member BOG, Trans-disciplinary University, Bangalore, Medical Advisor, Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative medicine (I-AIM), Bangalore), Prof. Sanjeev Jain (Principal Investigator, SKAN projects at NIMHANS) and Mr Vishal Bali, (Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings)

The discussions focused on how advancements in various fields of research are pointing to a new future for medicine, such as how next-gen sequencing is providing a better understanding of psychiatry and mental wellness, how mutations in blood can help predict diseases such as blood cancer, and how the human microbiome is emerging as a new dimension to understand the role of gut health for both body and mind. Another point of emphasis was on how inter-disciplinary collaboration across the globe and across sectors and fields will be crucial for the future of medicine. While the medical sector is familiar with collaboration, but there are issues such as intellectual property rights, which are contentious.

In line with the intent to become the leading forum for the public to hear first-hand from leading healthcare experts, The Future of Medicine will be an annual summit.

“To make a tangible difference to the healthcare industry, industry leaders must keep a pulse on emerging trends. Collaboration and conversation around offering integrated solutions spanning modern science and traditional therapies drive path-breaking advancements. Our hope is for 'Future of Medicine' to become an avenue for industry leaders to regularly connect and share new knowledge that enhances the healthcare ecosystem for a healthier tomorrow.” said Anindya Chowdhury, President & CEO, of Happiest Health.