On November 14, 2025, social media platforms including Twitter and Reddit erupted with discussions about a radiology report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi that included a report, appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence and signed by an "AI radiologist."
The image of this report spread rapidly across medical communities, prompting concerns, questions, and heated debates about the future of radiology in India.
The report was of a patient named Abhiraj Patel, 5 years old, male. The report along with the findings included a disclaimer which stated that:
"The AI generated reports are preliminary in nature and for the use of clinicians only and not be used for standardization or primary diagnostic use. Accordingly, neither the hospital nor Qure.ai makes no expressed or implied warranties or representations with respect to the merits, accuracy or the reliability of the report. The report should be correlated with patient history and relevant clinical findings in other medical tests and accordingly not be exclusively relied upon for arriving at a diagnosis, treatment plan, or other decision that may affect patient care. In case of any query or discrepancy in report, the radiology department can be contacted."
Over this Dr. Suvarankar Datta, a radiologist trained at AIIMS New Delhi and currently a full-time AI researcher, found his inbox flooded with queries requesting for a clarification in this aspect. In response, he released a detailed video addressing the controversy and clarifying the legal standing of such reports in India.
According to Dr. Datta's explanation, the viral report is part of a legitimate research study being conducted at AIIMS Delhi. The institution has been transparent about this initiative, with the official AIIMS New Delhi X (Formerly Twitter) account stating: "The Department of Radiology at AIIMS Delhi uses a clinically approved AI algorithm to triage chest radiographs. If any discrepancy is noticed in the AI results, a radiologist reviews the X-ray, along with the routine review of select positive radiographs."
The department handles exceptionally high volumes, up to 1,000 radiographs daily. The AI algorithm is specifically tuned for high negative predictive value (NPV), which reduces the chance of missing abnormalities while maintaining patient safety.
Dr. Datta was emphatic about one crucial point: AI-generated reports currently have absolutely no legal standing on their own in India without a radiologist's signature.
While India doesn't have enforced pathways equivalent to the FDA (United States) or CE marking (Europe), the country does have the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which recognizes AI as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). Several existing laws in India explicitly protect the role of radiologists and clinicians.
Dr. Datta emphasized: "Legally, a final AI report has absolutely no standing today in India. You can only consider it a report if it's signed by a trained radiologist. That's absolutely clear. There is no grey area regarding this."
Dr. Sumer Sethi, Founder of DAMS and a practicing radiologist, offered a balanced perspective on the viral report: "It's a big leap for medical tech and a great workflow booster: faster reads, fewer misses, better triage. But the viral report itself reminds us—AI outputs are preliminary and must be clinically correlated. Radiologists interpret context, complexity, and patient nuance."
He emphasized that the future involves AI assisting radiologists rather than replacing them, highlighting that human expertise remains irreplaceable for contextual interpretation and complex clinical decision-making.
Dr. Abdus Sameey Anwar, a primary care physician (MBBS), supported this by stating: "Medical Grade AIs are not to be taken lightly. They are not the usual ChatGPT or Gemini LLMs that the public use. Medical AI are specifically trained to deal with medical work. They can store more knowledge than any human brain. They can apply the knowledge faster than a human. They can recognize more subtle patterns than humans. They can do everything at a much faster pace than humans."
Dr. Datta's message to anxious radiology residents was reassuring: "You guys can be fairly content, I would guess, for now, knowing that you are not going to be replaced by AI anytime soon in the next couple of years."
The immediate future involves learning to work alongside AI tools rather than competing against them. Radiologists who develop AI literacy and learn to leverage these tools effectively will be best positioned for success.
The report represents not a threat to radiologists but rather an opportunity to redefine and enhance their role.
The most likely scenario isn't radiologists being replaced by AI, but rather radiologists who refuse to adapt to AI being replaced by radiologists who embrace these new tools. As Dr. Sethi noted, the future is one of "AI assisting radiologists, not replacing them."
(Rh/VK/MSM)