Indian-origin entrepreneur and digital health expert Dr Amandeep Hansra has received the Australian Medical Association 2026 President’s Award, recognising her contribution to medicine, digital health and medical innovation.

Dr Hansra, who continues to work as a doctor, has built a diverse career spanning general practice, digital health, telemedicine, health technology, entrepreneurship and angel investing.

She said the award was particularly meaningful as much of her work now extends beyond traditional clinical practice into the systems and technologies that shape what is possible in healthcare.

“Even though I still work as a ‘traditional’ doctor, a lot of my work now sits in digital health and working in the systems that shape what’s possible in a consult – long before anyone walks through the door,” Dr Hansra said.

“For a while I worried that was drifting away from what we know as medicine. I’ve come to realise it isn’t – it’s the same job, standing a bit further back from the bedside. And maybe even having a larger impact.”

Dr Hansra is also the founder of Creative Careers in Medicine (CCIM), a community supporting doctors and health professionals who are exploring career paths beyond traditional medical practice.

What began from her own uncertainty about moving beyond the conventional medical career pathway has grown into a community of more than 25,000 doctors.

CCIM advocates professional freedom and encourages health professionals to explore career paths aligned with their individual interests, ambitions and strengths.

Dr Hansra said the community had become a place where doctors could explore ideas and seek support while pursuing different professional directions.

“It’s now a tribe of more than 25,000 doctors, but it’s not the number that matters – it’s that people bring their half-formed ideas there before they’re ready to say them out loud anywhere else, and they feel supported and that they still belong.”

Dr Hansra is also involved with Australian Medical Angels, supporting healthcare innovation and investment.

She described the President’s Award as recognition not only of her own work but also of the communities, patients and colleagues who have contributed to her journey. “So this doesn’t feel like my award,” she said.

“It belongs to everyone who has built these two wonderful communities – CCIM and Australian Medical Angels – alongside me, and to the patients and colleagues who innovate alongside me and who’ve taught me most of what I know.”

Dr Hansra thanked AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen and congratulated the other recipients of the 2026 awards.

Her career highlights the increasingly diverse pathways available to Australian doctors, combining clinical practice with digital health, entrepreneurship, health technology and investment.

Dr Hansra studied medicine at the University of Newcastle before completing a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University and a Global Executive MBA at the University of Sydney Business School. She is also a Certified Health Informatician Australasia and a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Informatics. Her further qualifications include the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Company Directors Course and an Australian Certificate of Civil Aviation Medicine from Monash University.

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