GPRA Futures: How Astra Health is transforming General Practice with AI
General practice is changing. Technology, once seen as a distant support tool, is now reshaping how doctors work, how patients experience care, and how the future of healthcare will evolve.
At the forefront of this transformation is Astra Health, a multilingual AI-powered medical scribe founded by Gunjan Wadhwa and supported by the clinical expertise of Dr Ashish Wadhawan.
From frustration to innovation
Gunjan Wadhwa’s journey into health technology began not in a lab, but in her local GP’s consultation room.
“I saw first-hand the administrative burden my doctor faced – the endless typing, the time lost to forms, and the stress of trying to meet patient needs within a rigid system,” Gunjan recalls.
“I wanted to create something that gave doctors their time back while ensuring patients received the attention they deserve.”
With a background spanning healthcare, consulting, and technology, Gunjan founded Astra Health to tackle one of the biggest pain points in modern medicine: documentation.
The platform transcribes consultations in real-time across multiple languages and produces structured clinical notes in seconds.
“Our mission has always been simple,” Gunjan says. “Make healthcare more efficient and patient-centred.”
The doctor’s perspective
For Dr Ashish Wadhawan, a GP in Sydney with more than a decade of diverse medical experience, the promise of AI isn’t abstract – it’s part of his daily practice.
“General practice is only getting more demanding,” Ashish explains.
“Practices are booked out, patients can’t always see their regular GP, and emergency departments are stretched. Innovation is how we keep up without burning out.”
Ashish’s interest in AI started years earlier as an Orthopaedic Registrar at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he co-led a project with CSIRO and QUT to develop a deep-learning tool that predicted fracture complexity.
Today, his collaboration with Astra Health reflects his belief that technology must be woven into general practice to deliver lasting improvements.
“When I use Astra Health, I make sure consent is obtained and no patient-identifiable data is stored,” he says.
“It’s simple measures like this that build trust. Over time, as AI learns and improves, its quality will exceed what many of us can do manually – and that’s exciting.”
Enablers and barriers in health innovation
Both Gunjan and Ashish see Australia as well-positioned for health innovation. Government funding, COVID-era telehealth adoption, and a growing appetite for AI have created fertile ground.
But challenges remain. For Gunjan, time and funding structures are the biggest barriers.
“When GPs are under pressure with 15-minute consults, even time-saving tools can feel like extra work to set up,” she says.
“And with Medicare’s fee-for-service model, innovations that focus on prevention often struggle to fit.
“That’s why design must focus on ease, inclusivity, and real-world workflow.”
Ashish adds that trust is a hurdle.
“Confidentiality and scepticism are real concerns,” he notes.
“But if clinicians are involved in shaping solutions, and we build safeguards into the technology, those barriers come down. Doctors need to be in the driver’s seat of innovation.”
A tech-enabled future
So what does the future of general practice look like? Both leaders see a system that is AI-assisted, proactive, and patient-centred.
Gunjan envisions a world where “GPs spend less time on paperwork and more time making decisions, coordinating care, and engaging with patients.”
She also points to the importance of culturally appropriate care.
“Over a quarter of Australians are culturally and linguistically diverse. Future healthcare must be designed with that in mind from day one,” she says.
For Ashish, the future is also about sustainability.
“General practice can be rewarding and balanced if we use technology to reduce workload and improve access,” he says.
“That way, early career doctors can have both meaningful careers and fulfilling lives outside of medicine.”
Advice for early career doctors
Both innovators agree that general practice remains one of the most rewarding specialties.
“General practice gives you the privilege to know your patients across their life journey,” says Gunjan.
“It’s varied, flexible, and profoundly meaningful.”
Ashish echoes this sentiment.
“It’s underrated,” he says. “But it allows you to contribute to your community’s health while still being there for your family and your own wellbeing.
“With the right tools, it’s a career that offers both purpose and balance.”
Looking ahead
The message from Astra Health’s founders is clear: innovation isn’t about replacing doctors – it’s about empowering them.
“AI should never take away from the humanity of medicine,” says Gunjan.
“Its role is to free doctors to do what they do best – care for people.”
Ashish agrees. “The future of general practice isn’t man versus machine. It’s man with machine, delivering better care together.”
NOTE: Registrars should check their relevant College training policies regarding introducing AI tools into their practice.















