Indian hospitals to raise IT innovation spend by 25 per cent in 3 years: report

Panaji, Sep 10 (PTI) Indian hospitals are set to increase their IT innovation spending by 20 to 25 per cent over the next two to three years, with nearly half of healthcare providers already allocating between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of their IT budgets to digital innovation, according to a survey.

The CII-EY HealthTech Survey 2025 was released by Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane at the CII Hospital Tech 2025 Summit in Mumbai.

Goa is proud to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation, from AI-driven TB screening to life-saving ambulance services and free medicines for the underprivileged, Rane said.

The survey underlined that improving patient experience, enhancing clinical outcomes through technology interventions, and enabling data-driven decision-making will be the top three areas of investment for healthcare service providers in the coming years.

Nearly 60 per cent of hospitals cited workforce capability building and IT upskilling as their biggest challenge in digital transformation. Data integration, adoption of business intelligence tools, and cybersecurity were also identified as pressure points.

"Healthcare leaders are clearly moving away from pilots to practical, scalable use cases that can improve efficiency and drive data-driven care. Smart hospitals of the future will be patient-centric, efficient, and health outcome focused," said Ankur Dhandharia, Partner, Healthcare, EY Parthenon India.

The survey also revealed that Indian hospitals are increasingly leaning on artificial intelligence for clinical documentation, decision support systems, and imaging. More than 70 per cent of respondents flagged AI-driven documentation and data analysis as top investment priorities, followed by decision support (64 per cent) and imaging (60 per cent).

Joy Chakraborthy, Chairman of CII HospiTech 2025, said collaboration across government, industry and providers would be critical in unlocking the full potential of HealthTech. "The next wave of healthcare delivery will be defined by how quickly we bridge existing gaps and enable hospitals to scale innovation without compromising patient trust or data security," he said.

On adoption of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), the report noted that while 50% of hospitals have partially adopted the framework, 40 per cent are still in the planning stage. The slow pace of adoption, it said, highlights the challenge of aligning government initiatives with provider readiness.

The report also recommended a phased transition towards future-ready smart hospitals, based on EY's "5S framework" -- scalable infrastructure, seamless patient engagement, strategic data usage, strengthened security, and sustainable operations. PTI RPS KRK