New Delhi, India – Digital health strategist, policy expert and former Advisor to the Health Minister of India, Prof. (Dr.) Rajendra Pratap Gupta, has launched the Functional AI Pyramid™, a framework to help healthcare organisations assess and advance their AI maturity.
The initiative reflects Gupta’s long-standing focus on digital transformation, healthcare policy and technology adoption. According to Gupta, the framework was developed in response to a challenge he repeatedly observed across healthcare and other industries: organisations invest in AI, yet many struggle to translate enthusiasm into scalable implementation.
“Today, boardrooms approve AI budgets, conferences overflow with promises of transformation, and organisations proudly announce AI initiatives,” Gupta explains. “Yet most of these efforts struggle to scale or deliver meaningful impact because leaders often view AI as a single technology rather than a progression of capabilities.”
The Functional AI Pyramid™ proposes a staged approach to AI adoption, enabling organisations to assess their current position and identify the next practical step in their AI journey. Gupta describes it as a strategic capability framework rather than a technology framework, intended to support leadership teams in aligning investments, governance, workforce planning and implementation priorities.
Over the coming months, Gupta plans to focus on practical adoption of the model through executive education and organisational self-assessment initiatives. He is already integrating the framework into programmes delivered by the Academy of Digital Health Sciences, including its Chief Digital Health Officer curriculum.
“My objective is simple: I want the framework to be used, not admired,” he says. “The first six months are about helping organisations establish an honest baseline and align on the next achievable level of AI maturity.”
Looking ahead, Gupta believes healthcare leaders face a narrowing window to prepare for AI-driven transformation.
“In practical terms, most organisations have roughly three years to reposition themselves for the future,” he notes. “The opportunity belongs to leaders who recognise that AI is not simply another technology investment. It is a fundamental redesign of how value is created, decisions are made and healthcare is delivered.”
For Gupta, success will ultimately be measured not by awareness of the framework itself, but by its ability to support measurable organisational progress.
“I would like to see healthcare organisations confidently state which level of AI maturity they occupy and demonstrate measurable progress upwards. Not through marketing campaigns or press releases, but through tangible improvements in workforce productivity, clinical decision-making, patient outcomes and the cost of care.”
Alongside this initiative, Gupta was recently appointed to the 2026 Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF), further strengthening his engagement in global discussions on digital transformation, governance and the future role of emerging technologies.
About Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Prof. (Dr.) Rajendra Pratap Gupta is a public policy expert, digital health strategist and author. He serves on a range of national and international initiatives focused on healthcare transformation, digital health and technology governance. His previous roles include Advisor to the Health Minister of India, membership of multiple government policy committees, and leadership positions across digital health, health policy and international governance organisations. He is the chairman of Health Parliament, a global executive think tank. He also chairs the Academy of Digital Health Sciences.
