In this edition of MedBound Times, Dr. Akriti Mishra speaks with Dr. Kariena David, a healthcare professional at the forefront of AI in medicine and dentistry. Dr. Kariena currently leads Healthcare AI at KMM College, Kochi, Kerala, and has been invited by Harvard University for academic engagement. A recipient of the Dental Spotlight Award, she has collaborated with Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research on AI-driven healthcare initiatives. Passionate about bridging clinical practice and technology, Dr. Kariena empowers healthcare professionals and non-healthcare experts to harness AI for diagnostics, clinical decision support, workflow optimization, and specialty-specific applications. Through her work, she helps founders, professionals, and healthcare brands integrate AI effectively, achieving measurable impact in patient care and operational excellence.
In this interview, Dr. Kariena shares her journey from clinical dentistry to leading healthcare AI initiatives, discussing how technology is reshaping diagnostics, patient care, and preventive health while keeping clinicians at the center of decision-making.
Dr. Akriti: Dr. Kariena, to start, could you briefly tell our readers about yourself?
Dr. Kariena David: I am a healthcare professional trained in dentistry, currently serving as head of healthcare AI at KMM College, Kochi, I have been invited by Harvard University for academic engagement, am a Dental Spotlight Award recipient, and have been invited by Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research for academic collaboration. My work is recognized for contributions to clinical excellence and healthcare innovation.
Dr. Akriti: Can you share what led you into the intersection of healthcare, technology, and artificial intelligence?
Dr. Kariena David: My journey into healthcare, technology, and artificial intelligence grew naturally from my clinical experience. While practicing dentistry, I began to notice that outcomes depended not only on clinical expertise, but also on how effectively data was used to support decisions and workflows. That curiosity gradually led me toward data science and AI.
Dr. Akriti: For someone with no technical background, how would you explain what AI in healthcare actually means?
Dr. Kariena David: AI in healthcare means using technology to analyze medical data and support clinicians in making faster, more accurate decisions so they can focus more on patient care.
Dr. Akriti: From your perspective, how has the role of AI in healthcare evolved over the past few years, and what major shifts do you consider most impactful?
Dr. Kariena David: Over the past few years, AI in healthcare has shifted from pilot projects to real, workflow-embedded systems, and this is something I see firsthand. AI is now actively used across multiple hospitals in Kerala, including one where I head the Healthcare AI department, focusing on decision support, operational efficiency, and clinical integration.
Dr. Akriti: Could you highlight a few practical examples where AI has meaningfully improved diagnostics and clinical workflows?
Dr. Kariena David: Wearable devices like Fitbit can monitor heart patients in real time and, using AI to detect critical events, automatically alert nearby ambulances and hospitals, enabling faster intervention and potentially saving lives.
Dr. Akriti: How can healthcare professionals critically evaluate AI tools to ensure they are reliable, unbiased, and clinically valid?
Dr. Kariena David: Healthcare professionals should evaluate AI tools by checking data quality, algorithm transparency, and clinical validation, and by testing them in real-world workflows to ensure they are reliable, unbiased, and safe for patients.
Dr. Akriti: With the growing dependence on data-driven systems, how should clinicians balance AI recommendations with human clinical judgment?
Dr. Kariena David: Clinicians should view AI as a support tool, not a replacement, using its recommendations to complement not override their expertise.
Dr. Akriti: Do you think AI can help make healthcare more accessible in rural or low-resource areas? Could you share any examples?
Dr. Kariena David: Yes. For example, AI-powered telemedicine platforms can triage patients remotely, analyze medical images like X-rays or dental scans and blood tests, and provide early diagnostic insights where specialists are unavailable. Similarly, wearable devices with AI alerts can monitor chronic conditions and notify local clinics or hospitals, ensuring timely intervention even in remote locations.
Dr. Akriti: How can AI help families take better care of their health at home, before problems become serious?
Dr. Kariena David: AI could enable families to connect everyone’s health data under one platform, similar to a Netflix family plan, and track insights across members. This allows for personalized, proactive care, early detection, and informed decisions for the entire household.
Dr. Akriti: What new changes can an ordinary patient expect as AI becomes more common in hospitals and clinics?
Dr. Kariena David: As AI becomes more common in hospitals, patients can expect faster diagnoses, personalized treatment, and streamlined processes, allowing clinicians to spend more time on direct patient care.
Dr. Akriti: What ethical challenges do you believe are still under-discussed when it comes to AI adoption in healthcare systems?
Dr. Kariena David: One under-discussed ethical challenge is bias in AI algorithms, which can lead to unequal care if training data isn’t representative. Other concerns include data privacy, informed consent, and accountability especially when AI recommendations influence critical clinical decisions.
Dr. Akriti: There is a lot of confusion around AI replacing doctors. What do you think is the biggest myth people believe about AI in healthcare?
Dr. Kariena David: The biggest myth is that AI will replace doctors. In reality, AI is a tool to augment clinical expertise.
Dr. Akriti: If you had to pick one AI innovation that will make the biggest difference in people’s lives in the next few years, what would it be?
Dr. Kariena David: One AI innovation that could transform healthcare is a system where regular blood tests feed data to a dedicated AI agent for every patient. This agent could continuously monitor health markers, detect early signs of disease, and alert both patients and doctors in real time, enabling personalized, proactive care and preventing serious complications.
Dr. Akriti: Which areas of healthcare (clinical, administrative, or preventive) stand to benefit most from AI integration over the next decade?
Dr. Kariena David: Over the next decade, preventive care and early diagnostics stand to benefit the most.
Dr. Akriti: If you could redesign one area of the healthcare system using AI from the ground up, which would it be and why?
Dr. Kariena David: If I could redesign one area, it would be gum health and early detection of periodontal disease. AI could analyze dental images, patient histories, and lifestyle factors to detect gum disease early, how negligence to gum health matters.
Dr. Akriti: What advice would you give to students who aspire to enter the AI-healthcare domain?
Dr. Kariena David: Start by building a strong foundation in healthcare or life sciences, and complement it with basic data science, AI concepts, and analytics skills. Seek opportunities to work on real-world projects, collaborate across disciplines, and focus on understanding how AI can solve meaningful clinical problems.
Dr. Akriti: What message would you like to share with healthcare professionals who are hesitant about adopting AI in their clinical or research workflows?
Dr. Kariena David: AI is a tool designed to augment your expertise, not replace it. By embracing it, healthcare professionals can make faster, more accurate decisions, reduce routine workload, and focus on what matters most, patient care!
Dr. Akriti: What essential skills should today’s healthcare professionals develop to stay relevant in an AI-driven future?
Dr. Kariena David: Today’s healthcare professionals should develop data literacy, basic AI and analytics understanding, and familiarity with digital tools.
Dr. Akriti: How can healthcare professionals collaborate with engineers or data scientists to actively participate in AI projects rather than being passive users?
Dr. Kariena David: Healthcare professionals can actively collaborate with engineers by sharing clinical expertise, shaping problems, validating AI, and guiding implementation ensuring technology truly enhances patient care.
Dr. Akriti: Finally, what message would you like to share with patients and families who are curious, but also a little nervous, about AI in healthcare?
Dr. Kariena David: AI in healthcare helps doctors make faster, more accurate decisions. It’s here to keep you safe, detect issues early, and support personalized care, while your doctors remain at the heart of your treatment.
Across this interview, Dr. Kariena David positions AI not as a futuristic disruption, but as a practical clinical ally already embedded in modern healthcare. She traces her journey from dentistry to healthcare AI, highlighting how data-driven decision-making can improve outcomes, efficiency, and accessibility. From AI-powered diagnostics, wearables, and telemedicine to preventive care and family-centered health monitoring, she emphasizes AI’s role in early detection and proactive care. Importantly, she addresses ethical concerns such as bias, data privacy, and accountability, reinforcing that AI must complement, not override, clinical judgment. Her guidance to students, clinicians, and patients is consistent and reassuring: those who engage with AI thoughtfully, collaboratively, and ethically will be better equipped to deliver safer, more personalized healthcare in the years ahead.