New Delhi: Apollo Hospitals’ International Health Dialogue (IHD) 2026 concluded today in Hyderabad, with 27,000+ participants joining both in person and online over two days. With the theme Global Voices. One Vision., the programme brought together clinicians, patient safety leaders, accreditation experts, technologists, and health system policymakers from India and abroad, and received 300+ paper submissions and 120+ award entries from 75+ institutions worldwide, reflecting the depth and diversity of engagement around leadership-led safety, equity in system design, and responsible digital transformation for measurable outcomes and trust.
The programme also saw participation from senior Indian and international policymakers and health ministers, together with global quality and patient safety leaders, including Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Chevella, Telangana; Jonathan B. Perlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Joint Commission International (JCI); Carsten Engel, Chief Executive Officer, International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua); Atul Mohan Kochhar, Chief Executive Officer, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH); Jean Rosaire Ibara, Hon’ble Minister of Health and Population, The Republic of Congo; Grace Ayensu-Danquah, Hon’ble Deputy Minister of Health, Ghana; Sarah Cleto Rial, Minister of Health, Republic of South Sudan; and Huʻakavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, Hon’ble Minister of Health, Tonga.
Opening IHD 2026, Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, announced Apollo’s next phase of technology-led transformation, including a Hospital of the Future coming soon in Hyderabad, and an undertaking to build a Health System of the Future that extends beyond hospital walls.
Framing the shift underway, she said “Healthcare is moving from institutions to systems, from episodic care to continuous health, and from manual processes to AI-embedded workflows. Technology is not an add-on. It is becoming the operating layer of healthcare, provided it remains human-led and empathy-driven. Our challenge cannot be solved by linear growth. Healthcare needs exponential solutions.”
Dr Sangita Reddy also outlined the initiatives underpinning Apollo’s Health System of the Future undertaking, including Dial50 for non-clinical patient requests, the Microsoft partnership to build Clinician Copilot and Patient Copilot with human-in-the-loop governance, a preventive health AI platform with risk scoring and guided wellness pathways already running at scale with millions of API calls, and Apollo 24/7 serving 40 million+ users as the digital front door to care. “AI must remove mundane work, not human judgment. Safety improves when intelligence moves from retrospective review to real-time intervention,” she said, linking the roadmap to remote monitoring with zero code blue events in covered wards and 5G-connected ambulances that extend clinical oversight into emergency response.
In a virtual address, Dr Prathap C. Reddy announced that Apollo Hospitals will operate 24×7, 365 days a year, including weekends and holidays, encouraging a shift in how care availability is defined for patients. “Healthcare cannot sleep when people fall sick. Healthcare must be available every day, not just working days. Technology must always serve compassion, not replace it. The future of healthcare is not in hospitals alone, but in everyday life.”
Speaking on the Government’s strategic focus on patient safety and healthcare, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Chevella, Telangana, said, “Artificial intelligence is a strategic priority for the Government of India, especially for healthcare, agriculture, and education. AI will institutionalise medical expertise and reach the remotest communities. Data quality, granularity, and absence of bias will determine AI success. India’s public digital infrastructure gives us a strong foundation to build scaled, interoperable innovation.”
Dr Madhu Sasidhar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, spoke of the need for shared accountability across stakeholders saying, “Patient safety today sits at the intersection of governance, AI, regulation, and collaboration. Artificial intelligence must deliver value at scale, not pilots in silos. Quality and outcomes are usually assumed. Rather, they must be incentivised.”
Jonathan B. Perlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Joint Commission International (JCI), shared his perspective on trust in healthcare, saying, “Safe, effective, compassionate care is the foundation of trust. All people. Always. In all settings. Responsible AI must be integrated into healthcare operations, not bolted on. Trust depends on consistency across settings, operational integration, and clear accountability.”
The programme also featured “Unscripted with Mr Arnab Goswami,” where Arnab Ranjan Goswami, Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network, moderated an on-stage conversation with Ms Shobana Kamineni, Executive Chairperson, Apollo Health Co Ltd and Apollo Pharmacies Ltd. The conversation explored whether technology can truly improve health outcomes, why awareness often does not translate into action, and what prevention must look like in everyday life.
Alongside the main programme, THNX hosted the Startup Dome at International Health Dialogue (IHD) 2026 in Hyderabad, organised in partnership with Startup Réseau, as a deployment-led pathway where shortlisted startups engaged with clinician and investor panels.