India’s healthcare ecosystem must urgently focus on scaling access, affordability, and awareness to accelerate the adoption of precision diagnostics, experts said during a panel discussion on “Accelerated Adoption of Precision Diagnostics in India,” moderated by Dr. Sridhar Sivasubbu, Chief Diagnostics & Research Officer, Karkinos Healthcare.
Dr. ( Col ) Deepak K Mishra, Director, Bagchi Sri Shankara Cancer Centre & Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odhisha and President, Molecular Pathlogy Association of India, said, “Personalized medicine is no longer the future—it is the present. Today, no oncologist would treat cancers like lung cancer without proper molecular and diagnostic data. The real challenge is not personalization, but making it accessible to all.
Affordability remains a major issue, especially in public hospitals, as molecular tests are often not covered by insurance since they are outpatient diagnostics. This is where strong advocacy is needed. Through the Molecular Pathology Association of India, we are engaging with insurers to include molecular diagnostics as basic tests, just like routine blood investigations.
Encouragingly, several corporates and diagnostic companies are stepping forward through education initiatives and patient support programs. These efforts are helping bridge the access gap, and with continued collaboration, personalized medicine can truly become universal.”
Dr. Subhankar Basak, Lead Diagnostics and Health Innovation Hub, AstraZeneca, emphasised, “The key challenge is not just access to technology, but scaling it effectively to patients. With targeted therapies reaching India soon after global launches, diagnostics must be equally prepared to identify the right biomarkers. Clinician readiness is equally important—knowing why, when, how, and where to test—because diagnostics involves multiple stakeholders across the workflow. Awareness across this ecosystem is critical.
The second major challenge is cost. Over time, we’ve seen that once biomarkers become actionable, demand increases and costs fall, as seen with BRCA testing. Encouragingly, initiatives like the DHR–ICMR hub-and-spoke model and industry-led programs such as the Lung Alliance are helping provide free biomarker testing to patients.
In summary, awareness and affordability are the two key levers, and collaborative efforts across industry, clinicians, and institutions are the way forward.”
Dr Sandeep Sewlikar, Head - Medical and Scientific Affairs, Regulatory Affairs and Quality, Roche, stated, "We work closely with pathology experts to ensure that advancements in technology, standard operating procedures, and digital tools for data management and analytics are fully aligned with NABL guidelines. Every new machine we install undergoes rigorous validation testing to set processes correctly and maintain compliance, reinforcing our commitment to quality and precision in diagnostics."
Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh, Professor Emeritus-St John's Medical College, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Quality (India), Lead/Principal Assessor -NABL & NABH, emphasised “Future healthcare technology is not about expensive machines—it’s about affordability and access. Just as calculators became cheaper with scale, emerging diagnostic technologies will also become accessible to the common person. With telemedicine and telepathology, the rural–urban divide is already narrowing.
However, these advancements bring risks—lack of training, resistance to change, inadequate validation, loss of trust, regulatory non-compliance, and data privacy concerns. If risks are not proactively managed, trust will be lost. That is why quality today means doing the right test, at the right time, safely, affordably, and for everyone.”
Dr. Omshree Shetty, Scientist and Assistant Professor, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, said, “Institutions like Tata Memorial Hospital have a larger role to play, especially in terms of adaptability, because we largely cater to an underprivileged population. This means developing in-house testing kits, validating assays, or partnering with industry—for example, through beta testing of new diagnostic solutions.
We also have access to a very large patient pool, which allows us to study a high volume of samples. This helps us evaluate what works best, where costs can be reduced, and how diagnostics can be made more affordable, especially since most of our patients pay out of pocket. The data generated through this process can then be translated more broadly.
I would also like to highlight government-led efforts, such as the DHR–ICMR-supported molecular oncology diagnostic programs. These initiatives are expanding access even to rural areas through a hub-and-spoke model, where major institutions mentor and support smaller centers. This includes training technical and scientific staff, standardizing and validating assays, guiding equipment usage, and even helping with report drafting.
Through structured training programs, educational sessions, and webinars, this knowledge can be disseminated effectively and at scale.”
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