The Telemedicine Society of India – Telangana Chapter conducted a half-day workshop on “Transforming Healthcare: From Ancient Insights to AI Innovations” in collaboration with ESIC Medical College as the venue partner on 20th September 2025.

The event was proudly sponsored by KIMS Sunshine, Maheswara Medical College, Rijuven, Augsidius Health Technologies, Diginerve, and Pleapoint Consulting, with Hybiz TV as the media partner providing live coverage streamed on YouTube.

Participation & Engagement
The workshop witnessed an overwhelming response with 390 registrations from a diverse audience, including medical students, biomedical engineers, practicing doctors, healthtech startups, NGOs, and faculty and administrators from medical institutes.

Adding further vibrancy, six healthcare startups and companies exhibited their innovations, gaining significant visibility, business leads, and stakeholder interest.

Institutional partners including KIMS-Sunshine, Rijuven, Diginerve, Medmokk, Maheswara Medical College, ESIC Medical College, Pleapoint Consulting, Augsidius Health Technologies, and Paras Medical Book Publishers extended their grand support with strong brand presence throughout the event.

Poster Presentation Competition
A highlight of the day was a poster presentation competition on “Utilisation of Digital Health in Modern Medicine”, which saw enthusiastic participation with 15 posters showcased. The top three presenters were recognized and awarded for their innovative contributions by the jury consisting of Professor Dr Dinaker – General Medicine, Professor Dr Nagaraju – Maheswara Medical College, Dr Srinivas – Consultant Orthopedics and Dr Shivani Kailashchand Jain – Telemedicine Physician and EC Member of TSI Telangana.

The program commenced with a warm welcome by Professor Dr. Rajiv – Professor of Medicine, ESIC Medical College, setting a collegial tone for the day.

This was followed by a video message from Shri Ramachandra Vishnubhatta, President of TSI Telangana, who joined virtually from the USA. In his message, he expressed his delight in seeing the chapter host such an important program and conveyed his wholehearted support for its initiatives.

Dr. B.V. Krishna Rao, Senior Director of Maheswara Medical College and Vice President of TSI Telangana, then introduced the vision of the society and the state chapter for the current term. He highlighted the benefits of membership, while emphasizing that this workshop was the first in a planned knowledge series under the chapter’s grand vision. He also extended a special invitation to students to establish student chapters, assuring them that the society would support their efforts in gaining knowledge and exposure beyond conventional boundaries.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Radhika, Medical Superintendent of ESIC, shared her practical experiences with Tele-Ophthalmology, drawing attention to both its promise and its challenges. She highlighted how the success of telemedicine often depends on operational factors at the tele-centers, such as the functionality and ease of use of the software, and equally on the patient side, where issues like internet connectivity and access to technology can significantly impact the quality of care. She further emphasized the importance of doctors in India focusing on curating India-specific healthcare datasets to train AI models that are more relevant and effective in the local context. Her reflections not only brought real-world nuances into the conversation but also provided an inspiring direction for the scientific sessions that followed, urging participants to think about solutions rooted in ground realities.

Scientific Sessions
The program featured insightful talks by seven eminent speakers, covering diverse perspectives:

• • Prof. Dr. Sadhna Sharma – Delivered a comprehensive overview of Telemedicine, tracing its growth, challenges, and potential to bridge healthcare access gaps. Her session covered the fundamentals of Telehealth and Telemedicine, ranging from online consultations to remote patient monitoring. What stood out was her ability to translate complex concepts into relatable insights, particularly around the practical implementation of telemedicine, setting the right expectations for patients, and structuring an effective tele- consultation. The session reflected her dual strength as both a seasoned telehealth physician and an experienced teacher, evident in the clarity and depth with which she engaged the audience.

• • Dr. Akhila Kosuru – Presented on “Demystifying AI in Healthcare”, offering a grounded perspective on how AI can serve as an augmenting intelligence to ease clinician workload and enhance decision-making. She highlighted the fundamentals of decision-support systems, the importance of a critical understanding of open-source LLMs – including their strengths and limitations and the pivotal role of doctors as early adopters, validators, and co-creators of AI rather than passive end-users. Drawing from her own journey in health-tech innovation, she shared how her team is designing solutions like AstraAI – an AI agent and thinking companion for doctors and medical students. Her talk left the audience with a promising outlook on how clinician-driven AI can reshape medical practice.

• • Ms. Ifrazunnisa Khan – Delivered an insightful session on India’s New Data Protection Law, outlining its far-reaching implications for healthcare data security and compliance. She contextualized the discussion within the evolving landscape of telemedicine and artificial intelligence, which naturally prompted numerous audience queries on patient privacy, secure digital practices, and legal responsibilities. As an advocate, she addressed these concerns with remarkable clarity and patience, explaining the rights, regulatory frameworks, and practical steps needed to navigate this space responsibly. Her session not only demystified the legal nuances but also reassured participants on how to align innovation with compliance.

• • Dr. Rahul Lakshminarayanan – Spoke on the relevance of AI in vascular imaging and intervention, highlighting its potential to enhance diagnosis and treatment precision. He noted that surgical fields remain relatively uncharted territory for AI, where adoption is still at an early stage. Drawing on global practices, he shared practical use cases that represent low-hanging opportunities for innovation in vascular care. His talk emphasized the enormous potential outcomes AI could unlock in this domain and the growing interest it is generating. By the end, his presentation served as a call to innovators to explore the fusion of AI with vascular surgery, opening avenues for impactful advancements.

• • Dr. Snigdha Mokkapati – Spoke on the impact of oral health on general health, emphasizing that the mouth often serves as a window to systemic health, with strong associations to conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. She highlighted how oral health remains a relatively neglected area in preventive care and shared her vision of integrating oral health screening into general health screening programs. Introducing her innovation, the D-Oral device, she explained how it is being deployed in population screening to not only increase visibility of oral health issues but also provide better interpretation and early detection prospects. Her session underscored the importance of elevating oral health within the broader public health agenda.

  • Dr. Hima Bindu – Joined as a guest speaker, bringing her perspective as a clinician and entrepreneur. She is the Founder of Angel Eyes, an AI-driven platform that connects people with the right doctors, and Co-Founder & COO of Salubrity, an award-winning health-tech startup. In her talk, she introduced these innovations, speaking about how AI can be applied to areas such as nutrition, hair health, and digital care. Her session not only highlighted the recognition her ventures have received at forums like the Global AI Summit 2024 and T-Hub Hackathon but also inspired the audience to view the role of doctors as entrepreneurs and innovators in shaping the future of healthcare.

Program grandly ended with vote of thanks delivered by Mr Uma Mahesh Katta.

Organizing Committee
The successful execution of the workshop was made possible by the dedicated efforts of the Organising Committee:
– Mr. Uma Mahesh Katta – Vice President – Rijuven, Treasurer TSI Telangana
– Mr. Errabelli Ram Mohan – Program Coordinator
– Ms. Shivani Jain – Program Coordinator, EC Member Telemedicine Society of India – Telangana Chapter
– Dr. Srinivas – Associate Professor, Maheswara Medical College
– Professor Dr. Rajiv – Professor of Medicine, ESIC Medical College (Chair, Organising Committee)
Special thanks were also extended to the volunteers and ESIC team for their tireless support.

Acknowledgement
The Telemedicine Society of India – Telangana Chapter extends its heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors, speakers, institutional partners, participants, and volunteers for their invaluable contributions.

Their collective support and active involvement ensured the workshop’s success and reinforced the vision of advancing healthcare through technology, innovation, and collaboration.

The program concluded on a high note, leaving participants with renewed inspiration and a positive outlook on the transformative impact of digital innovations in medicine. The students, in particular, expressed great excitement about their participation, reflecting the enthusiasm of the next generation to engage in healthcare innovation and digital transformation.