Abstract Through improved access to specialist services, streamlined treatment procedures, and increased diagnostic accuracy, the swift integration of telemedicine and artificial intelligence (AI) in India’s healthcare system has revolutionized patient care. The key areas of application include AI-assisted clinical decision support for diagnostics, remote patient monitoring, predictive analytics for disease risk stratification, Natural language processing (NLP)-based triage, and teleconsultation platforms connecting patients with specialists across the geographic barriers. These applications have demonstrably improved patient outcomes through earlier detection, timely specialist access, and continuous care in chronic disease management. However, this rapid growth raises a wide spectrum of ethical and legal issues, including but not limited to data protection, informed consent, accountability and liability for AI-assisted errors, algorithmic bias and fairness, malpractice in virtual consultations, cross-border regulatory gaps, equity of access, standard of care in AI-augmented practice, and intellectual property concerns related to AI-generated medical content. Reviewing current Indian legislative frameworks, ethical standards, and international best practices, this guidance document examines the consequences from the viewpoints of emergency medicine doctors, pediatricians, paediatric neurologists, paediatric urologists, and diabetologists. The document highlights legislative shortcomings and suggests practical next steps for India’s all-encompassing telemedicine and AI legal framework.
Hirani et al. (Wed,) studied this question.