It was the fall of 2022 when large language models and Generative AI burst out of research labs and onto Main Street. Since then, every day seems to bring another AI breakthrough that challenges how work gets done.

In my role advising organizations on AI strategy and deployments, I see a consistent pattern among healthcare leaders: excitement about what AI could unlock, paired with exhaustion from the volume of noise, pressure, and competing claims.

Welcome to 2026.

As predictions flood inboxes and social feeds, focused on what AI might do next, I want to ground the conversation in something more useful. Rather than forecasting outcomes, let’s focus on three forces already at work—forces that will determine whether AI delivers real value in healthcare or quietly stalls.

Will 2026 be a year of boom, bust, or backlash?

The honest answer is yes.

Boom: Early Wins—and an AI Arms Race

Let’s start with what’s working.

Healthcare is seeing real, if narrow, gains from AI:

• Ambient documentation reduces administrative burden
• Imaging and pathology tools iare mproving speed and consistency
• Operational and revenue cycle applications driving incremental efficiency

These are not moonshots. They are targeted solutions addressing specific pain points. And they matter.

At the same time, healthcare is now firmly in an AI arms race.

Every EHR vendor, medical device company, life sciences firm, and digital health startup is racing to declare itself “AI-native.” Roadmaps are packed with copilots, assistants, agents, and automation claims. No vendor wants to be perceived as falling behind.

That pressure is accelerating innovation—but it’s also compressing timelines, encouraging over-promising, and pushing organizations to adopt faster than they can realistically absorb.

Boom energy is real.

But it is also uneven and fragile.

Prediction: Within two years, most AI used in provider organizations will arrive embedded inside core systems and devices already in use. Intelligence will not be something teams “add on”; it will be something they inherit.

Recommendation: Understand where AI is already embedded across your vendor ecosystem and what’s coming next. Engage early through advisory councils or pilots. Engage and prepare clinicians before introducing these capabilities into workflows. AI should never arrive as a surprise.

Bust: When Pilots Multiply, but Value Doesn’t

Generative AI has dominated innovation agendas, yet only a fraction of pilots ever reach sustained production. A survey cited by MIT reports that roughly 95% of business AI pilots fail to generate measurable returns.

This is not evidence that AI lacks value.

It is evident that many organizations lack discipline.

High failure rates are normal in early markets. Technology matures. Tools improve. But value only materializes when leaders focus on fundamentals: design, data readiness, workflow integration, and ownership.

Most AI initiatives fail not because the technology doesn’t work, but because success is never clearly defined. Projects are launched out of curiosity, vendor pressure, or fear of being left behind. Clinical impact, operational accountability, and economic value are clarified too late—if at all.

Equally damaging is the underestimation of the human systems AI enters. Healthcare work is relational, regulated, and trust-dependent. When AI is introduced without redesigning workflows, preparing staff, or clarifying responsibility, it creates friction—not relief. Adoption then stalls quietly.

Prediction: In 2026, organizations will run fewer AI pilots—but with much higher expectations. Boards and executives will require clearer evidence of clinical, workforce, or financial value before approving new initiatives.

Recommendation: Move from “fail fast” to “fail before you scale.” Define success upfront, assign ownership early, and redesign workflows in tandem with technology. AI initiatives without a credible path to value should be halted immediately.

Backlash: Fear, Workforce Anxiety, and the Trust Gap

The most underestimated force shaping AI’s trajectory in 2026 is neither technical nor financial.

It’s human.

History offers context. When automobiles first appeared, they were seen as dangerous and socially disruptive. Red Flag laws required people to walk ahead of vehicles waving flags and capped speeds at just a few miles per hour. These laws weren’t about innovation—they were about fear, control, and adjustment.

Healthcare AI is entering a similar phase.

Workforce research shows healthcare workers are among the most cautious about AI adoption, citing concerns about trust, transparency, and job impact. This caution is not irrational. Healthcare has a long history of technology being imposed rather than co-designed.

As a result, scrutiny is increasing—particularly from labor organizations and state legislators. Recent bills, including those limiting AI’s role in clinical decision-making and licensed practice, reflect not anti-innovation sentiment, but unresolved trust and knowledge gaps.

Innovation does not scale without trust.

In 2026, AI scrutiny will intensify, especially with labor organizations and at the state legislative level.

As I write this, the Chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Internet and Technology just introduced a bill (S7263) to “protect patients and front-line care workers from the adverse effects of AI tools in risky or untested settings.”  The bill prohibits chatbots from performing the duties of licensed nurses and puts strong guardrails around the use of AI in healthcare settings.”

I often write about the need for a balanced approach to defining both the “gas and guardrails” that guide AI’s use in health and medicine. Incentives and safeguards are equally important.

Prediction: Expect increased legislative activity and labor engagement around AI in healthcare throughout 2026. Such actions should not be dismissed simply as anti-innovation. They reflect something deeper: a trust and knowledge gap that needs to be closed.

Recommendation: Create durable AI value by investing in workforce and consumer education. Clinicians need clarity—not just on how AI works, but on how it supports professional judgment rather than replaces it.

From Awe to Analytical

The year ahead will test the resolve of leadership. Transformation in healthcare is rarely linear—and never clean.

Vendors will continue to showcase breakthroughs. The hype will continue. But 2026 is not the year for cheerleading.

It is the year for realism.

The most effective leaders are moving from awe to analysis—recognizing that AI value does not come from the technology itself, but from the opportunity it creates to rethink how work gets done.

In that sense, AI value is—and always will be—a uniquely human process.

The post AI in 2026 – Boom, Bust or Backlash in Healthcare? appeared first on Medika Life.

A new independent analysis conducted by actuarial firm Milliman reveals that FlyteHealth’s AI-enabled Comprehensive Obesity Care program, piloted in partnership with the State of Connecticut, yielded both high medication adherence and meaningful short-term cost avoidance within its first year.

A Real-World Test: Public Sector, Private Innovation

Faced with surging costs tied to GLP-1 coverage since 2020, Connecticut’s self-insured employee health plan took a bold step in 2023 by launching a pilot with FlyteHealth to better manage obesity treatment for eligible employees and retirees. The results: a projected $1.2 million in pharmaceutical cost avoidance and an 86% adherence rate among new GLP-1 users—figures that far surpass national benchmarks.

In typical commercial settings, just 32% of patients remain on GLP-1 therapy after one year. Worse, only 27% follow their prescribed dosing schedules. These statistics often lead payers to pull back on coverage. But FlyteHealth’s personalized, tech-enabled approach may offer a path forward that makes medical and fiscal sense.

Clinical Expertise Meets AI-Driven Personalization

FlyteHealth’s model blends decades of clinical experience with data intelligence. The care program is rooted in the methodology of obesity medicine expert Dr. Louis Aronne and powered by a patent-pending AI engine that tailors care plans based on individual biometric and behavioral data.

Patients receive virtual care from a multidisciplinary team—physicians, nurse practitioners, and dietitians—alongside medication management, lifestyle coaching, and digital support via wearables and connected devices.

The program’s precision prescribing approach uses BMI-based triage to match patients with the most appropriate treatments, reserving higher-cost medications for those with more severe obesity.

State Leaders Applaud Value-Driven Innovation

“This partnership with FlyteHealth is a clear example of how forward thinking, evidence-based innovation can improve people’s lives while also protecting taxpayer dollars,” said Connecticut State Comptroller Sean Scanlon. “The results show we can deliver high-quality care that’s both clinically effective and fiscally responsible.”

Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH, FlyteHealth’s executive board chair, echoed that sentiment: “Employers and payers are rightly concerned about costs and access. FlyteHealth is committed to supporting those goals with proven, cost-effective solutions.”

Beyond Cost: Patient Outcomes and Long-Term Potential

While the Milliman study focused solely on pharmaceutical spending, FlyteHealth reports additional health improvements among participants, including:

• A 7.2% reduction in elevated HbA1c
• A 9.4% drop in blood glucose levels
• 13%–16% average weight loss over 12 months

The clinical team also addressed comorbidities such as sleep apnea, steatohepatitis, and cardiovascular disease—highlighting the comprehensive nature of the program.

FlyteHealth CEO Sloan Saunders emphasized that these results demonstrate more than momentary success: “Milliman’s independent analysis validates our model’s ability to achieve patient adherence, optimize resource use, and create meaningful savings. But this is just the start—we’re focused on long-term health and economic impacts.”

Looking Ahead

FlyteHealth plans to evaluate broader medical cost offsets and total cost-of-care reductions in future studies. As demand grows for solutions that bridge innovation with fiscal responsibility, the Connecticut pilot could serve as a national model for scalable, AI-informed obesity and cardiometabolic care.

To access the full Milliman report or learn more, visit www.flytehealth.com.

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According to the report, global investment in Consumer Health Technology grew by 9% in 2024, totaling $4.5 billion. This increase reflects investor confidence in technology-driven health solutions and signals a shift toward consumer empowerment. However, despite the surge in funding, the report underscores persistent challenges, including a clinical validation gap that could hinder long-term adoption and trust.

“The Consumer HealthTech sector is at a pivotal moment,” said Julien de Salaberry, founder and CEO of Galen Growth. “We are witnessing the continued health-sector evolution where consumers seek to secure stronger ownership over their health and well-being. People who succeed in using their buying power to secure innovation with clinical validation will shape the future of health.”

Investment and Market Dynamics

Galen Growth’s report reveals a complex funding environment where record investment is contrasted by uneven access to capital. While total investment rose to $4.5 billion in 2024, the market remains heavily weighted toward early-stage ventures:

• 75% of Consumer HealthTech ventures are still in the seed stage, highlighting the challenge of securing Series A and beyond.
• Only 25% of ventures incorporated in the last seven years have progressed to Series A or beyond.
• 11 mega deals (valued at over $100 million) accounted for 37% of overall funding, reflecting investor appetite for mature ventures with proven models.

Regional Investment Trends

North America remains the dominant market, capturing 64% of total funding and securing 78% of global venture capital deals. The region’s leadership in funding reflects its mature digital health ecosystem and strong investor appetite for high-growth, technology-driven health solutions.

Europe attracted 24% of global funding, focusing on corporate health and wellness solutions. In contrast, the Asia-Pacific region secured 12% of international funding, driven by increased investment in preventive health marketplaces and telemedicine.

Notable Deals from 2024:

• Neko Health secured a $260M Series B for its AI-driven preventive health model, which is focused on early detection and personalized treatment recommendations.
• eGym, a global fitness technology leader, raised $201M in a Series H to expand its connected training platform and enhance its AI-powered coaching system.
• Spring Health, a mental health platform, raised $100M in a Series E to scale its personalized therapy and mental wellness offerings.
• Flo Health, a women’s health app focused on menstrual cycle and fertility tracking, raised $200M in a Series C to expand its product offerings and global reach.

Mental Health Takes the Lead

Mental health emerged as the dominant focus in Consumer HealthTech in 2024, attracting 29% of total funding—underscoring the growing recognition of mental well-being as a vital part of overall health.

“Consumer HealthTech has the power to democratize health by giving individuals greater control over their health,” added de Salaberry. “But for this potential to be realized, ventures need to address the division between the haves and have-nots and the clinical evidence gap to demonstrate measurable health outcomes.”

The rise in mental health investment reflects a shift toward more personalized, technology-driven care models. Consumers increasingly expect the same level of convenience and personalization in health that they experience in other industries, such as retail and finance. This demand has spurred innovation in teletherapy, mental health apps, and AI-driven cognitive behavioral therapy.

Key Therapeutic Areas:

• Women’s Health saw a surge in funding, capturing 20% of total investment. Startups like Flo Health are capitalizing on the growing demand for reproductive health and fertility tracking.
• Preventive Health attracted 17% of funding, driven by the rise of AI-powered diagnostics and real-time health monitoring.
• Sleep and Cognitive Health solutions are also gaining traction as consumers seek to improve overall well-being through better sleep quality and cognitive enhancement.

Strategic Partnerships and M&A Activity

Partnerships and consolidation play a critical role in the sector’s growth:

• More than 900 new partnerships were formed in 2024, signaling growing collaboration across the health ecosystem.
• Venture-to-venture acquisitions accounted for 79% of M&A activity, highlighting how companies are using consolidation to strengthen market presence.
• Notable partnerships included:
  • Pfizer partnered with GoodRx to improve medication management and strengthen direct-to-consumer outreach.
  • Amazon expanded its mental health footprint through a strategic partnership with Talkspace for teleconsultation services.
  • Mayo Clinic partnered with Prenetics to advance genomics-based health solutions and expand access to precision medicine.

This trend toward consolidation reflects increasing pressure to scale solutions and navigate complex regulatory and reimbursement landscapes. More prominent players are looking to leverage established consumer brands and data platforms to enhance their competitive positioning.

Issues and Prospects

Despite the rise in funding and market activity, the Consumer HealthTech sector faces critical challenges:

• Clinical Validation Gap: The report highlights that Consumer HealthTech ventures exhibit an 11% lower clinical evidence signal than the broader digital health ecosystem. This gap raises concerns about scientific rigor and long-term adoption.
• Funding Bottleneck: Early-stage ventures struggle to secure Series A funding, with most capital concentrated in late-stage deals.
• Accessibility and Equity: Unlike traditional health, which is often covered by insurance, Consumer HealthTech solutions rely heavily on out-of-pocket spending. This creates a divide between those who can afford premium health services and those who cannot.

“The health sector cannot afford to become a system of haves and have-nots,” said de Salaberry. “Consumer HealthTech ventures must work to close the accessibility gap by developing affordable solutions and proving their clinical value.”

Future Trends and Market Outlook

The Galen Growth report identifies several key trends shaping the future of Consumer HealthTech:

• AI-Driven Personalized Medicine: AI-powered diagnostics and health assistants enable hyper-personalized treatment plans based on genetic, biometric, and behavioral data.
• Hybrid Models: Successful Consumer HealthTech ventures increasingly integrate with traditional health systems to improve credibility and adoption.
• Regulatory Oversight: Governments and regulators will likely increase scrutiny over health claims and data privacy, creating startup opportunities and challenges.
• Equity and Affordability: To achieve long-term impact, Consumer HealthTech solutions must address disparities in technology access and affordability.
• Digital Therapeutics: Prescription-based digital interventions for managing chronic conditions are poised to bridge the gap between technology and evidence-based care.

A Defining Moment for Consumer HealthTech

Consumer HealthTech represents a seismic shift in health—moving from reactive to proactive care. As Galen Growth’s report reveals, the future of health lies in empowering individuals with technology-driven solutions that provide real-time insights and personalized care.

The rise of AI-driven diagnostics, wearable technology, and telemedicine enables consumers to monitor and manage their health in real time. This shift toward preventive care improves outcomes and reduces the burden on traditional health systems.

However, sustainable growth requires stronger clinical validation and deeper integration with established health frameworks. Consumer HealthTech ventures must navigate the complexities of reimbursement, regulation, and market competition to secure long-term success.

The Galen Growth report makes it clear: The future of health belongs to those who empower consumers—and prove it works.

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Have you ever had a telehealth video session with a clinician?

My hospital, Evergreen Hospital (Kirkland, WA), was the first in the United States to identify the infection on 20 February 2020.

Telehealth video medicine became popular in my oncology clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A substantial minority of patients still prefer the approach.

Telehealth Benefits for Physical Conditions

Studies suggest telehealth can:

• Reduce opioid overdose deaths
• Improve patient satisfaction for rheumatologic conditions
• Provide valuable care for those with cardiovascular disease
• Help manage movement disorders (such as Parkinson’s disease)

However, there’s a wrinkle.

While telehealth has benefits, some of my colleagues in healthcare are unsure about its effectiveness and safety for treating depression and other behavioral health issues.

My Goals

You just read about some conditions for which telemedicine provides benefits.

But what about mental health issues?

Are telehealth practices efficacious?

We’ll examine the potential advantages of telehealth for depression treatment and the concerns raised by some practitioners.

First, let’s look at the depression statistics.

Depression: The Numbers

Here’s a breakdown of depression prevalence according to recent estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

• Overall: Nearly four percent of the global population experiences depression.
• Adults: Depression affects 5 percent of adults, with a slightly higher rate among women (6 percent) compared to men (4 percent). Age matters a bit, as seen in the chart above.

• Age: The rates of depression were 21, 18, 18, and 17 percent for those ages 18 to 29, 45 to 64, and over 65, respectively.
• Global Impact: An estimated 280 million people worldwide struggle with depression.
• Pregnancy & Postpartum: More than 10 percent of pregnant women and new mothers experience depression.

Other Factors Influence Depression Risk

Some factors can increase the risk, such as:

• Life Experiences: People who have faced abuse, significant losses, or ongoing stress are more likely to develop depression.
• Gender: Women are statistically more prone to experience mild, moderate, or severe depression than men.
• Race: Non-Hispanic Asian adults are least likely to experience depression compared with Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black adults.

One in Five Actively Experience Depression

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly one in five adults in the United States reported experiencing some symptoms of depression within the past two weeks.

These problems ranged from mild feelings of sadness to more severe symptoms.

The good news is that depression is treatable.

Approximately 70 to 80 percent of people with major depression can significantly improve with proper treatment.

The Devastating Impact of Suicide

Sadly, depression is linked to a significant number of suicides each year.

Over 700,000 people die by suicide globally, making it the fourth leading cause of death among young adults aged 15 to 29.

Remember: Depression is a treatable condition. If you or someone you know is struggling, please ask for help. There are resources available to support you on the road to recovery.

Telehealth

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how we access healthcare, and mental health services are no exception.

Telehealth, which uses technology like video conferencing and secure messaging, has become increasingly popular for delivering therapy sessions.

This virtual approach lets patients connect with mental health professionals remotely, offering convenient access to consultations, interventions, and secure information exchange.

Telehealth for Depression Management

Researchers analyzed a collection of studies (meta-analysis) to see if online therapy (telemedicine) could help people with mild to moderate depression.

They found strong evidence that telemedicine improved the following:

• Depression symptoms: People felt better overall.
• Quality of life: Daily life felt more manageable.

There wasn’t enough data to definitively say how telemedicine impacts work and social functioning, but at least one study showed promising results — people also experienced significant improvements in these areas.

Overall, this research suggests that online therapy can be an effective tool for managing depression and improving well-being.

Telemedicine versus Face-to-Face

Researchers compared studies on depression treatments, both in-person and online (telehealth), that involved cognitive therapy (talk therapy).

They found some interesting things about the people who participated in these studies:

• Telehealth Patients: People who used telehealth tended to have had depression symptoms for a longer time compared to those in in-person therapy studies. However, a smaller percentage of them had received treatment before. This finding suggests that telehealth attracts people who haven’t sought help earlier.
• Severity of Symptoms: Despite the longer duration of symptoms, the telehealth group didn’t experience worse depression compared to the in-person group. This observation was surprising, as researchers initially thought patients with more severe (untreated) depression might be more likely to choose telehealth.
• Age: There wasn’t a significant difference in age between the groups using telehealth and in-person therapy.

These findings suggest that people who haven’t received prior treatment for depression might be more open to trying telehealth. More research is needed to understand these trends fully.

Non-Westerners May Benefit Most

A recent study published in JAMA looked at the effectiveness of mental health apps for people with moderate to severe depression.

People from non-Western ethnicities seemed to benefit more from these apps than those from Western backgrounds.

The researchers suggest this difference might be linked to the stigma surrounding mental health in some cultures.

People from non-Western cultures might feel more comfortable using an anonymous app to access treatment.

This fascinating finding highlights the potential of mobile apps for making mental healthcare more accessible, especially for those who might face social barriers.

Good News All Around

The study also found some positive things about how well the app worked:

• Reduced Depression: People who used the app, regardless of whether they were already getting therapy or medication, experienced a decrease in depression symptoms.
• Boost from Combo Treatment: Those who used the app alongside therapy or medication saw the most significant improvement in their depression.

These findings suggest that mobile apps could be a valuable tool or an extra support system for traditional treatments.

Apps May Work for Both Diagnosed and Self-Reported Depression

The study also found that the app seemed to be equally helpful for people with a formal diagnosis of depression and those who self-reported symptoms.

These results suggest that mobile app interventions could be useful for a wider range of people seeking help with depression.

Important Note: While the app showed promise, it’s crucial to remember that it shouldn’t replace professional mental healthcare.

If you’re struggling with depression, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.

My Thoughts: Is Telehealth A Solution?

The rise of telehealth offers a convenient and potentially effective approach to managing depression.

Research shows that online therapy can significantly improve many individuals’ symptoms and quality of life.

While some uncertainties remain regarding its effectiveness for specific patient groups, telehealth has the potential to expand access to mental healthcare, particularly for those who may face social barriers or have had difficulty seeking help in the past.

Mobile apps also show promise as supplementary tools, offering additional support and potentially reducing stigma for those in cultures where mental health issues carry a heavy social burden.

Remember, depression is a treatable condition. If you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

Whether you choose traditional in-person therapy, explore telehealth options, or utilize a mental health app, resources are available to support your recovery journey.

The post Feeling Blue? Maybe There’s an App for That: Exploring Telehealth for Depression appeared first on Medika Life.

Amidst this evolving demographic, the proliferation of smartphones, wearable health monitoring devices, telemedicine, and other health-tech applications driven by today’s digital age has transformed the way consumers engage with healthcare. This has given rise to an increasingly informed patient population who are constantly looking for ways to take their health into their own hands and on the alert for innovative self-management solutions.

Against this backdrop, we are seeing a steadily rising sector in the healthcare industry that has been gaining momentum – Consumer Healthcare (CHC).  Offering affordable and accessible options for preventive care and symptom management, the CHC sector is designed to provide easily accessible services for consumers such as over-the-counter medications, personal care items, and supplements. Having reached a value of USD 284.16 billion in 2022, the global CHC market is projected to soar to USD 608.39 billion by 2032, growing at a promising trajectory of 7.91% CAGR[3]. From a SEA context, CHC represents a captivating prospect for mitigating its demographic hurdles while unlocking growth opportunities for healthcare enterprises. Here’s how healthcare businesses can tap into this potential and leverage CHC to improve patient outcomes.  

The Perfect Storm: Challenges Driving CHC Demand in APAC

There are two key challenges creating a surge in CHC demand, with the first being growing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the region.

NCDs are a leading cause of mortality in SEA, responsible for approximately 62% of all deaths annually, and totalling around 9 million lives lost[4]. Alarmingly, half of these deaths occur among individuals aged 30 to 69 years, highlighting the significant impact on the productive age group[5]. Among NCDs, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) claim the highest number of lives (3.9 million deaths), followed by cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes.  Moreover, rapid urbanization has led to lifestyle changes characterized by sedentary behaviour, unhealthy diets, as well as increased tobacco and alcohol consumption. Traditional diets are being replaced by high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, contributing to obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Additionally, despite efforts to curb tobacco consumption, smoking rates remain the highest (26.5%) in SEA[6]. Alcohol consumption is also increasing, particularly among young adults. Along with diagnosed cases, there is a substantial portion of the population living in rural areas of SEA with undiagnosed NCDs and who are unable to afford treatment. These factors point to a considerable unmet need for NCD-specific treatments and diagnostics to address the growing burden of these diseases in the region.

The burgeoning NCD burden in Southeast Asia highlights a critical need for accessible and affordable treatments and diagnostics. CHC products have the potential to fill this market gap, offering viable solutions to address the escalating prevalence of NCDs in the region.

Secondly, the heavy NCD burden is coupled with a critical shortage of trained healthcare professionals in the region, with insufficient doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel available to meet the healthcare needs of its population. For example, Indonesia faced a staggering deficit of 31,481 specialist doctors in 2023[7]. In the same year, the Philippines health department said that the country needed 125,890 nurses and 116,032 doctors to meet WHO standards, and it would take 25 years to close the doctor-patient demand gap[8]. As a result, patients may face long wait times for appointments, limited access to specialized care, and challenges in receiving timely medical attention. Furthermore, the shortage can lead to overburdened healthcare facilities, increased workloads for existing staff, and compromised quality of care as professionals feel burnout[9]. This exacerbates healthcare disparities and hampers efforts to ensure equitable access to healthcare.

Given SEA’s shortage of healthcare professionals, there is an urgent call for accessible and self-directed healthcare options. With the increasing demand for CHC products amidst these hurdles, the CHC sector offers a hopeful means to narrow the healthcare access divide and enable individuals to manage their health proactively.

Bridging the Gap: CHC’s Transformative Power

CHC also provides a wealth of benefits that cater to the region’s dynamic needs. One significant advantage of CHC is its appeal to the rising middle-class population in the Asia-Pacific region. By 2030, Asia Pacific’s (APAC) middle-class population is projected to grow from 1.38 billion in 2015 to 3.49 billion[10], indicating a surge in consumers with increased disposable income who prioritize personal well-being. In addition, 51% of APAC consumers are willing to pay more out of pocket for healthcare, while 50% of high-income groups are spending more on nutritional supplements[11]. This demographic shift underscores the growing demand for health-related products and services, positioning CHC as a key player in meeting evolving consumer needs.

Additionally, CHC products have the potential to overcome geographical barriers and reach underserved areas where traditional healthcare services are lacking. More than one-third – 1.6 billion – of the APAC population lack effective access to social health protection, and less than half of its workforce enjoys legal entitlement to income security in the face of illness[12]. Due to inadequate infrastructure, CHC can provide essential over-the-counter medications and healthcare essentials in remote and rural communities with limited access to clinics and hospitals. Within these communities, chain pharmacies, personal care stores, hospitals, and clinics can function as essential healthcare nodes, acting as the first point of contact for medical care and self-care. CHC products and OTC medicines, therefore, ensure that healthcare remains accessible to all.

Moreover, CHC can empower individuals to take control of their health through proactive self-care practices and readily accessible OTC solutions. By promoting preventive measures and offering easy access to healthcare products, CHC fosters a culture of health-consciousness and empowerment among consumers.

The Road Ahead: Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships

In charting the road into SEA’s CHC industry, collaboration amongst key stakeholders emerges as the cornerstone for advancing healthcare access and ensuring the seamless delivery of quality products and services to patients across the region. This includes strategic partnerships amongst healthcare providers, CHC companies, and governmental organisations.

For CHC companies looking to drive accessibility of their products, the relevant stakeholders must set up efficient distribution channels to ensure the seamless delivery of CHC solutions to underserved populations, particularly in remote and rural areas. CHC companies can do this by partnering with service providers who have a strong understanding of SEA’s market complexities, strong market expansion services, and an extensive delivery infrastructure catered to the region’s specific needs. For example, DKSH Healthcare’s capillary distribution network has a 90% penetration in CHC with over 100 years of experience in Asia, with strong reach into chain and independent pharmacies, convenience stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets.

Additionally, navigating the intricate regulatory landscapes of SEA emerges as a pivotal challenge. Here, partnering with companies that boast extensive regulatory expertise becomes essential. Such partnerships facilitate the negotiation of diverse regulatory frameworks, ensuring compliance with stringent standards while expediting the introduction of CHC products to the market. DKSH Healthcare’s team of 90 healthcare experts provided end-to-end assistance on regulatory challenges to help businesses adhere to compliance standards, while ensuring that patient safety takes priority. Thus, collaborative efforts among stakeholders herald a promising trajectory for CHC in SEA, bolstering healthcare accessibility and efficacy across the region.

Towards a Consumer-Driven Future for Healthcare

As the region continues to navigate healthcare disparities and demographic shifts, the rise of CHC emerges as a transformative force in addressing pressing challenges. By empowering individuals to take charge of their well-being and bridging gaps in healthcare access, CHC also paves the way for a brighter, healthier future in Southeast Asia. With the support of collaborative initiatives, it’s time for CHC business and healthcare organizations to tap into CHC’s potential to revolutionize healthcare accessibility and efficacy across the region, paving the way for a consumer-driven future in healthcare.

[1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/south-eastern-asia-population/#:~:text=South%2DEastern%20Asia%20Population%20(LIVE)&text=The%20current%20population%20of%20South,the%20latest%20United%20Nations%20estimates.

[2] https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/Aging-Southeast-Asia-grapples-with-weak-social-safety-nets#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20ratio%20of,to%20the%20%22aged%22%20category.

[3] https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases#:~:text=Noncommunicable%20diseases%20(NCDs)%2C%20principally,accounting%20for%209%20million%20persons.

[4]  https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases#:~:text=Noncommunicable%20diseases%20(NCDs)%2C%20principally,accounting%20for%209%20million%20persons.

[5]  https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases#:~:text=Noncommunicable%20diseases%20(NCDs)%2C%20principally,accounting%20for%209%20million%20persons.

[6] https://www.who.int/news/item/16-01-2024-tobacco-use-declines-despite-tobacco-industry-efforts-to-jeopardize-progress

[7] https://www.integrity-indonesia.com/blog/2023/10/10/overcoming-medical-workforce-shortages-opportunities-and-challenges-for-foreign-doctors-in-indonesia/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20report%20from,serving%20a%20population%20of%20277%2C432%2C360.

[8] https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/11/13/2311040/ideal-patient-doctor-ratio-seen-25-years-lawmaker

[9] https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1655

[10] https://www.statista.com/statistics/255591/forecast-on-the-worldwide-middle-class-population-by-region/

[11] https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2024/asia-pacific-consumers-especially-gen-z-are-taking-greater-ownership-in-health-and-well-being-bain-survey-finds/

[12] https://www.ilo.org/asia/media-centre/news/WCMS_831314/lang–en/index.htm

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But what would I do if I could only attend one and not the other?  Sorry, you’ll have to crystal ball that answer. 

I’m dedicated to health innovation that can improve people’s health.  I recognize that the fragmented health ecosystem creates a self-inflicted system-wide chaos that diminishes the provider’s ability to help people seeking healing. It results in patients having to re-tell their medical narrative again and again to each health provider they engage.  It leads people needing preventive or follow-on care to fall through system cracks.  It means that people most at risk due to enduring and unjust health disparities are left to wither.  That injustice pains and angers me.

The Business of Industry Conferences

Who doesn’t have FOMO – the fear of missing out – as we see the explosion of selfies on LinkedIn, X, Thread and Instagram of industry friends and colleagues and realize we’re not among Nick Adkins’ #Pinksocks or Swaay Health group photo glam? It’s like being invited to a hot party, not showing up, only to hear later that it was “incredible” and how we missed out. That’s life. Even Bruce Wayne and Batman can’t be in the same place simultaneously.

Industry gatherings – conferences, summits, and meet-ups – are revenue-generating businesses, from selling lanyards to exhibit costs to sponsoring satellite sessions.  To accommodate attendees, the companies that organize these mammoth events need to drive efficiency to reach profitability.  They need to inform and entertain. Don’t begrudge them the right to make money – sustainable gatherings lead to enduring communities.  We all benefit from the consistent, collaborative exchange.

Logistics are Often Planned Years in Advance

These meetings are geo-positioned corresponding to audience size, and space is secured many years and years in advance.  HIMSS is a 36,000-person gathering.  In the United States, only three venues can likely accommodate that meeting size: Orlando, Chicago, and Las Vegas.  ViVE has almost 8,000 attendees, more location flexibility, and wisely, it is heading back to Nashville – the nation’s capital of health provider services.  As businesses, their timing depends on the competitive strategy to attract sponsors, speakers and attendees. Retaining attendees annually creates a powerful magnet to draw in others – friends of friends.

ViVE, only three years old, is a hit. The blend of major sessions held within the exhibit hall, evening social events, and size speak to people’s need to connect with thought leaders and find a place within the CHIME/ViVE community.

Competitive or Different Missions 

Our mindsets are too often structured to pit one against the other.  Don’t go there. These two health industry gatherings are very different in rationale, structure, duration of time, and desired outcome. I don’t favor one over the other and schedule for both.  Imagine if we started to choose among ATA, HIMSS, SXSW, and ViVE.  

It’s an interesting polemic – especially if you only have the budget to attend one or two of these gatherings.  If budget and time demand, I recommend picking two to three and investing your time in cementing a network of advisors, mentors, and community.  [NOTE: I tend to center my meeting schedule around CNS Summit, HIMSS, HITLAB, HLTH, and ViVE – though I attend others such as the Digital Health & AI Innovation Summit.]

Keep in mind the top speakers rotate among all these gatherings. It is their responsibility as institutional thought leaders to share their wisdom.  So, we must listen to and learn from leaders such as Rasu Shrestha, MD, Walter Greenleaf, Ph.D., or Tom Lawry, who are likely to attend or speak at many of these gatherings.  However, the attendees and the call-to-action required determine their message flow and should set your scheduling priorities.  

ViVE draws me in due to its intimacy and community.  Like CNS Summit (Collaborate for Novel Solutions), ViVe is “right-sized” to rub shoulders with key colleagues, move swiftly from session to session, and have an exhibit floor that doesn’t require cutting through the jungle.  It is a magnet for like-minded digital health grass-tops leaders who want to check in and connect about how the system can better align workflow processes.  Clear process results in better (health-system) performance.

Digital health in itself is misunderstood.  Apps and wearables are the tip of the information iceberg.  It is about digitizing the health system overall and connecting the provider system to the consumer – seamless care.  That remains an enormous undertaking for an industry sector that still clings to the old ways, like a three-year-old to a beloved teddy bear, despite being told to abandon its treasured fax machines.  Digital encompasses how we will deploy AI, ChatGPT and GenAI to improve workflow.  It demands that we position health equity as the core priority of these efforts.  It considers how we can connect consumers to their providers confidently and well within HIPAA parameters.

I like ViVE for many reasons – mainly because I can enter into conversations with people seasoned enough to influence corporate strategy or at least inspire each other and are eager to learn and hear from others who care equally about the patient experience.  I think ViVE enables attendees to revisit critical elements of the health system that determine business success. Don’t ever underestimate reflection. The CHIME/ViVE connection offers added value and brings a strong community mindset.

HIMSS is the Davos of Health Information

HIMSS is a 70-year-old society with 125,000 members worldwide.  Since 1962, it has held an annual global meeting, part of a bigger effort to serve patients by democratizing information with best-practice standards.

“HIMSS is where big ideas are discussed, innovation is created, and professionals make the connections that will change the future of healthcare. From the engineers and developers building new solutions to the technology leaders guiding health systems through major challenges like the ethical use of AI and cybersecurity, HIMSS conferences are a meeting of the minds that will create tomorrow’s health,” said Christine Buck, HIMSS chief marketing officer.

Yet, the HIMSS conference is much more than scale – 36,000 people focused on health information. It’s about where these attendees come from and their determination to shape health access and delivery standards.  They hail from 70 countries, and their titles range from Health Minister of Korea to call center manager from South Dakota.  They’re wearing US Armed Forces non-commissioned officer to bird colonel military ranks or t-shirts and jeans from the top dogs at global giants like CISCO, EPIC and Microsoft to health tech start-ups.

“My favorite part? The authentic, genuine, and casual nature of interactions with other humans in the health industry who are navigating the mutual hallways of mixed indifference and passion — the marketing formality gives way to our better nature of connection and collaboration,” says Matt Cybulsky Ph.D., host of edgy The Digital Health Roundtable.

HIMSS is a moving city, and expect to cover your step goal during its five-day 8 AM to 6 PM schedule, including hundreds of sessions curated, tracked, and peer-reviewed by HIMSS-member volunteers.  Along with a bolus of professional development, there are key NGO moments where government leaders announce new international health information management agreements. HIMSS is a society that encompasses best-practice solutions, professional development and public policy.

For example, during the meeting, Hal Wolf, president and CEO of HIMSS, and Geun Chan Lim, CEO of Korea Health Information Service, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) cementing a three-year relationship between HIMSS and the Republic of Korea for Electronic Medical Record adoption in hospitals throughout the country.  HIMSS transcends the definition of a meeting; it’s a professional society that works across industries and countries.

“HIMSS conferences and events provide our membership – and all our attendees – with unrivaled access to best-in-class thought leaders, educational programming, and groundbreaking speakers. HIMSS24 helped drive awareness of pressing health equity issues and social determinants of health while also creating a space for everyone from CIOs to nurses to build connections and collaborate,” adds Buck.

Apples or Oranges?

The idiom comparing two dissimilar objects was originally apples to oysters.  Things change over time. Originator John Ray penned his thoughts in a collection of sayings in 1670.  It wasn’t a competition between two fruits but a reminder that they’re different, so don’t compare. 

I was at ViVE.  I was at HIMSS. I value lessons learned – albeit different – from both.  Apples and oranges.  I like them both.

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We may be spending too much time singing the praises of the tech and less time exploring how to deploy these channels and resolve long-tolerated problems. We may be overly impressed by their engineering marvel and less centered on democratizing information to tackle health equity disparities. Some health payers and provider systems are using AI to pump the breaks on authorizations when the bigger issue is whether those that need preventive and engaged care gain prompt access. Efficiency without effectiveness limits AI’s great possibilities.

HIMSS leaders are asking these questions. They are tapping into global experts in information management, cybersecurity, patient engagement, upskilling health provider system IT teams, discussing policies with government leaders worldwide and much, much more. If you thought HIMSS was a colossus annual meeting – a party for health IT pros, think again! HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf and his staff are passionate about how information creates informed (and accurate) decisions. Their roles within this global society hold great influence and they understand that with responsibility comes accountability.

I had the opportunity to meet with the HIMSS leadership team for an upcoming feature and conduct a special radio interview for Healthcare Now Radio network on Health Unabashed with the HIMSS CEO. Here’s the preview. My full and candid conversation with Hal and Executive Producer Gregg Masters will air starting Monday, March 11th starting 10AM, three times daily for two weeks.

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In the first three days of this Los Angeles gathering, I’ve had the chance to pop in on countless sessions, swing by exhibits that occupy large and small footprints and chat with C-Suite voices from some of the nation’s most prominent health players and most promising start-ups.  But as Sheba Medical Center’s Chief Innovation Officer, Eyal Zimlichman, MD, MSc, thoughtfully reminded a filled-to-capacity room during one session: “Sometimes the challenge is not the technology or innovative approach.  It can be in the implementation.”

Several companies caught my attention during three days at ViVE.  Unexpectedly, the most impressive are enterprises that aren’t swinging for the bleachers of change but those who make incremental improvements in the health ecosystem, leading to better patient care and putting a lid on spiraling costs. More and more, there is a need for meaningful changes now.  What happens tomorrow is theoretical. Keeping the health system chugging ahead translates into keeping doors open to patients who might not have access to care.

What should readers do with this information?  Follow these companies.  Listen to what their senior executives say about how their approaches impact the health industry. Use their information to benchmark the “right now” that lays the groundwork for successful technologies that too often capture the buzz and have yet to show. As the adage goes, the “proof is in the pudding.”  These are companies that have a presence within the sector and demonstrate momentum.

Companies at the Forefront of Health Information and Innovation

Several companies invited Medika to swing by their exhibits or attend panel sessions.  These companies are working hard to help health systems improve workflow – recognizing that repetitive tasks can and should be automated. Highways have moved from coin-taking toll attendants to EzPass transponders. The benefits are clear – reduced traffic and smog. Give thought to eliminating hospital bureaucracy that burdens providers and consumers. 

The companies on the ViVE exhibit floor acknowledge that physician time – a precious resource – can be better used in patient care.  Others realize that the changes in technology and information systems are happening so fast that hospital systems must embed outsourced staff to keep current with transitions.  Innovation is only meaningful if used – otherwise, it’s merely conversational and conceptual.

ViVE is doing something needed and practical. It’s bringing together prominent players in health, companies that can make information valuable, and start-ups looking not to disrupt but positively evolve time-test but worn approaches. Here are some companies that caught my eye:

• The consumer appliance giant Best Buy presence at a health industry conference may seem out of place. They don’t have in-store clinics – they have gadgets and wearables. They have a Geek Squad ready to set up your home entertainment studio.  But they’re the perfect partner for hospital systems looking to discharge patients to heal at home and remain connected to their providers.  They are experts in helping seniors overcome the challenges of setting up and using remote monitoring technologies that incorporate blood pressure monitoring or ECGs.  They are pros in addressing tech questions virtually.  If aging and home care are to become a standard of care, Best Buy is ahead of the curve in helping health systems make it a possible leap.

• Technology should reduce workflow – not add to the headaches chief technology and information officers manage. Health systems must streamline repetitive operations and care processes. CereCore is a leading provider of IT services that help hospitals and health systems chart a course through the operational IT labyrinth. The company works with hospital systems to prioritize patient care and information streamline processes. Its “get it done approach” includes IT staffing, application support, technical professional and managed services, IT advisory services, and EHR consulting.  With more than 700 employees across the US, its workforce includes clinical and technical experts supporting 450 hospitals and implementing IT solutions across 4,000 care settings.

• Corti is a startup specializing in AI-enabled decision support tools for clinic and first responder environments. Corti develops solutions to improve efficiency and experience by analyzing emergency conversations using ambient clinical voice and real-time clinical discussions. Like large language models (LLMs), Corti trains on thousands of actual patient calls and clinical consultations, listens alongside professionals, and converts this learning into insights and suggestions using proprietary speech recognition and natural-language processing. Published data show that AI outperforms human call-takers in sensitivity and predictive accuracy. This advancement augments call-takers ability to triage and ensures faster and more precise emergency response.

• DigiCARE is an early company addressing a long-targeted goal of improving brain disease care.  Based on Indiana University research, a machine-learning algorithm powers its promising AI platform with an 80% performance accuracy and a one-year prediction horizon to detect all forms of unrecognized dementia. The platform mines already-collected data from electronic patient health records and sorts through structured and unstructured data, including patient demographics, diagnosis, medication history, and vast medical notes. The company is already working with health systems to deliver routine brain care for a growing aging population. Early detection of diseases such as Alzheimer’s treatments will accelerate new approaches to drug discovery and development.

• e4health fills expertise gaps in IT, HIM, coding, and CDI. When provider organizations face management issues and bandwidth concerns, the company provides expert resources to complete projects and achieve departmental goals on time and within budget. From legacy data conversion for new EHR implementations to staffing vacancies, e4Health delivers the highest levels of healthcare expertise alongside a relentless commitment to integrity and data accuracy. Their teams ensure consistent quality, accuracy, and productivity for the customers served.

• Like the “smart home,” eVideon is championing hospital smart room technology and digital workflow. The company’s flagship product, Vibe Health, automates clinical workflow, facilitates enhanced communication, and transforms care environments into personalized and interactive spaces. The solutions include an in-room Smart TV, digital whiteboard, digital door sign, and bedside tablet, redefining traditional care settings. These technologies integrate with the hospital’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system and other technologies, making real-time information accessible to patients, families, and the care team. Medika Life readers can access their Smart Room Technology Playbook— to understand how technology saves nurses time and improves the care experience.
• HCTec provides IT services to over 1,500 academic medical centers, health systems, community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and other healthcare provider organizations nationwide. HCTec teams offer health information technology expertise across clinical and business applications, data, security, and other technical services. With some 500 team members and decades of combined health experience, HCTec is highly KLAS-rated, providing healthcare IT staffing, managed services solutions, and EHR services.

America has a significant obesity challenge – a public health epidemic that is a tipping point to heart disease, diabetes and stroke. New medications called GLP-1 are a new class of medications and a partial solution – they address weight-key symptoms of the problem. They do not address the underlying diseases or modify the patient’s mindset long-term. Some other pathway is needed! Enter Intellihealth, a startup software solution that effectively scales obesity management and tackles weight management, risk management, comorbidities, diabetes, cancer, and heart and respiratory disease impact. The American Medical Association classifies obesity as a disease, but the US health system is no match for its prevalence.

• The “value-based care” buzzword continues to enter the health economics conversation.  Interwell Health, a kidney care management company, has impressive roots – formed from the merger of the value-based care division of Fresenius Medical Care North America with Cricket Health – and may be among the better examples demonstrating how information can guide physicians and staff to prioritize care decisions for people with chronic kidney disease care to end-stage kidney disease.  So far, the company has proven its ability to improve outcomes and deliver better quality of life for people while reducing the cost of care for payer partners and providing the resources physicians need to navigate a value-based world – all at scale.

• We need more information. TED Founder Richard “Saul” Wurman describes data dilemma perfectly in his bestselling book titled “Information Anxiety.”  The US healthcare system places tremendous weight on the shoulders of health providers to obtain, manage, and share clinical data. If health professionals need a remedy for their anxiety, MRO understands data exchange challenges between providers and payers.  MRO has been a key clinical data exchange player for some 20 years, modernizing health information analog and manual processes. The company is lightening the load for customers, and the proof is that it connects more than 200 EHRs, 200,000 providers, 35,000 practices, and 900 hospitals, drawing data from more than 1.3 billion clinical records.

NourishedRx is a purpose-centered digital health and nutrition company that has become a public health voice working to improve outcomes, lower medical costs and advance health-equity goals. Diet-related chronic conditions account for almost 20% of all US health care costs—particularly for people facing food insecurity and diet-related health conditions that can be tracked through blood pressure and HbA1c, NICU admissions and LBW births, pre-term births, depression, and more. Mission-centered NourishedRx is not a food bank! Its highly personalized model structures service through the lens of “food as medicine.” Its operating system is also a call to action—health and health equity—one meal, one individual, and one community at a time. Its customers are surprising—savvy payers who recognize that without access to healthy nutrition, vulnerable people at risk for non-communicable diseases are almost certain to tip into the abyss of illness.

Lauren Driscoll is the founder and CEO of NourishedRx and a Medicare Advantage expert. She founded NourishedRx in 2019 to support health plans’ efforts to address their members’ most actionable and critical non-clinical needs — nutrition and social isolation. Information can be linked to life-saving interventions. NourishedRx demonstrates that possibility.

There’s no clear consensus on whether ADHD is over- or under-diagnosed. However, it is universally understood that timely and accurate assessment can prevent emotional and academic struggles among children and teens.  Getting it right is hindered by a lack of standardized diagnostic tests. Qbtech is transforming objective ADHD care through a technology-first approach that augments professional care. Like many ViVE attendees in the busy hallways and crowded exhibit halls, Qbtech takes a practical solutions approach to health-sector challenges.  Its Food and Drug Administration cleared for marketing computer-based tasks monitoring system brings new perspectives to evaluation and treatment, and decision-makers welcome the 15-20 approach to initial assessment.  The system has been adopted across 43 US states and by organizations such as the NHS in the United Kingdom. Outcomes data appears in over 35 independent studies.

• Sendero is a management consulting firm that guides strategic planning, digital transformation, and organizational effectiveness. Sendero healthcare practice was developed to help clients navigate the industry’s complex and frequently changing operations, experience, and technology enablement challenges. The consulting group brings objective thought combined with years of experience to clients from project ideation through implementation so that health systems can maintain their focus on essential high standards and adapt to deliver solid patient experience, support employees, and engage in evolving waves of innovation. Objectivity and knowledge are precious resources.

• Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, the Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Sheba Medical Center, was on hand during VIVE.  Sheba is Israel’s largest medical center and a top-ranked Newsweek hospital. Dr. Zimlichman is the founder and director of the Sheba ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) Innovation Hub. This global innovation ecosystem aims to redesign the health system through digital health innovation. Here, Sheba was wearing a different health system hat. ARC is creating innovation communities worldwide and in locations where, beyond transformation, innovation can address social determinants of health, such as economics, education, and life experience. 

Sheba is also a “paperless-wide” health system: no faxes or massive file systems.  The health system can impact more than physical health. They can inspire young people to pursue careers in technology and reduce the carbon impact of hospitals to improve the environment.

• Tegria is a global healthcare consulting and services company partnering with provider and payer organizations to unleash their potential to contribute to a healthier future collaboratively. Like others, it delivers end-to-end solutions to help clients avoid economic strife that is too common among health systems and secure growth. But here, they are not wishes or empty words.  Tegria has over 1,500 professionals with technology expertise working alongside 500 clients in North America and Europe.

“When we invest in technology, we invest in partnerships and define our priorities,” said Ray Gensigner, MD, Tegria chief medical officer, responding to Medika Life. “Technologies must demonstrate a clear potential to benefit patients and healthcare providers simultaneously. To be on my investment radar, technologies should have credible validation and promise to make a tangible difference,” he added.

• The financial reports of the hospital system reflect the growing number of struggling care systems. Information is the lifeblood of patient care – but it’s also the navigational tool for hospital executives to build sustainable systems. ViVe was the setting for breaking news.  TruBridge is a new player on the scene with a heritage that spans four decades.  Numerous companies joining legacy company CPSI as acquisitions have united under this new brand identity.

While the name is new, the company continues to offer highly regarded revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions that enhance productivity and integrate financial operations across acute to post-acute and ambulatory settings. But rallying all its companies under one corporate identity clarifies for customers how TruBridge services, products and talent weave together and project the scale and strength of a mega sector player.

• On the go? 98point6 Technologies. has refocused its talent and time, making its AI-powered technology and software available to providers to expand access to care and improve patient engagement since the sale of its Care Delivery Division a year ago to Transcarent. In many ways, this renewed business focus secures 98point6 place as one of the nation’s leading virtual care platforms for patients and their physicians to connect when on the move. Its flagship 98point6 Technology Platform provides cloud-based software combining augmented intelligence with automated practice standards and EHR integration.  

At a time when primary care services are needed more than ever to stem the tide of non-communicable illnesses, 98point6 Technologies are a needed bridge between brick-and-mortar physicians’ services and consumers who now think hybrid and expect the world to respond to their flexible needs.

• Viz.ai harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve patient outcomes. Its FDA-cleared algorithms analyze medical imaging data, including CT scans, EKGs, and echocardiograms, and have the potential to provide real-time insights that accelerate diagnosis and treatment. The Viz Platform autodetects possible disease presence across therapeutic areas, including neurovascular, cardiovascular, trauma care, and radiology. Diagnosis sits at the heart of treatment – do that faster and more accurately, and physicians can do their best work with greater confidence and less stress.  This is not a “success is just around the corner technology.”  Already, Viz.ai has been adopted by more than 1,500 US hospitals – perhaps on its way to becoming a sector standard.

****

The concept of the future is always inviting and exciting. Futurists are rarely wrong.  It isn’t easy to judge what remains intangible. The difference between invention and innovation is scaled customer application.  AI, ChatGPT, and GenAI applied play to the strengths of the curious and bold. Using these technologies democratizes information for humanity’s benefit. The tools can improve care, increase workflow efficiency, and lower spiraling health costs.  This is all happening right now. 

The companies included in this ViVE summary are helping the health system and their customers deliver transformational health technology today. That may seem less “edgy” than tomorrow’s shiny object, but all ideas are judged by their impact and sales. Follow these companies who are paving the way for improved care delivery.

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[Though now out of print, used copies are available on Amazon at an incredible price range of $599 to $9.99. The full text is a free-of-charge Google download, Branding Health Services.]

Today’s Leaders Continue to Grapple with the Broken System

It is almost impossible to imagine that when the book’s 18 contributors penned their chapters, the Internet of 2000 was a novelty used by early adopters. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, which outlined a plan to ensure that most Americans had electronic health records, didn’t exist. “Dr. Google” had yet to become a code word for consumers looking up information for “self-diagnosis.” The world Eric Topol envisioned in the bestseller “The Patient Will See You Now” was pure science fiction. The system’s customer — the patient — was left out of the picture. Terms defined in Tom Lawry’s Hacking Healthcare and the potential of AI and ChatGPT outlined by John Nosta were not even on the big tech brainstorming whiteboard.

Fast forward 24 years. Medical information and innovation accelerate the possibilities of improved care, but health institutions still grapple with many of the same challenges. Many have been folded into others to create networks, gobbling each other up or finding that partnerships are better than head-to-head direct competition. Those arrangements have likely been driven by cost containment and more substantial negotiating power around private and public payer reimbursement. Yet, the importance of patient experience and engagement remains largely lip service.

You Can Order a Pizza Online — But Make A Doctor Appointment?

You can order a pizza with a few strokes of an app. Try scheduling or changing a doctor’s appointment. Frustrating. In Psychology Today, John Nosta writes about one of the health system’s biggest challenges, “Culture squashes innovation.” What was true 24 years ago remains much the same — even as hospital and care systems rush to perfect their digital front door and make it easier for patients to access care.

The institutions that chose to contribute to this prescient book on branding evolved into national health-sector leaders. Unsurprisingly, most are icons of clinical excellence by securing high levels of patient satisfaction. They are among the top-rated hospitals in the US News and World Report rankings. All make “brand building” relationships with their stakeholders — board members, employees, consumers, patients, caregivers, policymakers, product innovators, and payers — a C-Suite priority.

However, others continue to see sustained brand-building efforts as a cost center rather than core to attracting and retaining the best health talent, securing solid reimbursement rates, and, most importantly, making consumers, as they enter its portals and doors, feel confident their clinical concerns will be addressed with expertise and customer-centered convenience. The experience around care defines the power of the brand in health care.

Medicine is for the People — Still a Futuristic Calling

In the closing pages of the chapter, I contributed a reminder that we are still — even as enlightened — committed health professionals — struggling to create space for the consumers’ voices to be heard. Today, I am reminded that pharma pioneer and visionary George W. Merck, speaking at the Medical College of Virginia at Richmond in 1950, said, “We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we remember that, they have never failed to appear.” Constantly, we must look back to press forward.

Health care is for the people! The system is supposedly designed to provide care — not withhold it. But, when consumers look back at the 24 years since Branding Health Brands was published and look at their situations, today, health care seems to be created by and for the system. Institutions and drug innovators are inspired to help and heal, but that is not how the public and policymakers perceive them. Now, as we look to Election 2024 and the upcoming presidential debates that will chastise the sector, we anticipate the brutal attacks that will be coming. But not one segment of the system is at fault — The most significant cost sink results from fragmented information and economic systems.

(Health) Information is Power

Do not judge this old jug of a book published two decades before Topol’s bestseller, The Patient Will See You Now, as out-of-sync. Its pages contain actionable historical insight:

“Once even the ablest of patients played a version of ‘Mother May I?’ with their doctors — no more. Information in the hands of the lay public has become part of the cure. Even many health care providers now feel, in a twist on the retailing come-on, that an educated health care consumer is their best patient. Indeed, for every provider irked at the second-guessing of amateurs, others [physicians and pharmacists] are grateful not to have to explain the difference between bacterial and viral infections…

“More and more, information is the weapon of choice of today’s health care consumers, who are shedding light where bureaucratic stonewalling and professional secrecy once ruled. Empowering the ‘end users’ of health care as never before.”

The passion to continue this journey is more vibrant than ever. Today, health communication colleagues worldwide must champion the call that embracing health brands leads to closer connections between product innovators, physicians, payers, policymakers, and, most certainly, patients. They must be encouraged to realize that — while too often messaging C-Suite leaders to pass along blame on why the US health system is broken — they must also find ways to collaborate and center efforts around a shared passion for healing that outweighs who comes out on top on a given day.

Will AI, ChatGPT and Telehealth Make Things Better

In the face of many health brand-building reputation challenges, power brands solve people’s health problems. With new platforms to reach audiences, including AI, ChatGPT, and Telehealth, in truth, brands streamline decision-making. Excellence and hope are not disparate concepts. Together, they send a message to consumers, caregivers, and patients — you have come to the right place.

Since its publication, 24 years have passed, yet the challenges and call-to-action presented in “Branding Health Services” have not changed. “Products and services that can rise above the clutter withstand the klieg lights of exposure and are elevated above others in the hype-competition for consumers’ attention.” Health brands resolve people’s fears and aggregate their hopes and dreams, helping them navigate the clutter to enhance their lives.

Twenty-four years have passed since Branding Health Services — Defining Yourself in the Marketplace hit the bookshelves. We have to ask ourselves candidly, how far have we gone to address the patients’ pressing needs to be a partner in their care? Not far enough!

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Medika Life published a piece titled The Top 20 AI Voices to Watch some months ago, and most of the thought leaders, influencers, and theorists featured have continued to demonstrate why they lead the AI conversation.

But AI isn’t the only significant advancement, problem, or concern clouding the future of innovation and patient care. We can’t allow the AI boom to distract from the other issues that should be on sector leaders’ radar screens while we read about the hot trends and people to follow in 2024.

[Hear first hand Michael C. Mann, host of Planetary Health First, Mars Next, and Gil Bashe discuss the importance of this Top 10 Health Issues list.}

It All Ties Back to the Cost of Health – Election Year 2024

Get ready for the 2024 election cycle!  Presidential and down-ballot candidates will be the loudest voices trying to appeal to public sentiment and pinging voter pain points.

Congress has several health issues influencing drug innovation and affordability on its radar screen. There is little doubt that Congressional staffers from both parties have made the cost of prescription drugs a front-and-center policy focus so that medications are more affordable for constituents. Measures that empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices and increase transparency make good press. But in the US health system, when you fix one thing, you will break another. Our system is fragmented.  One sector executive has little idea of how another’s business model works.

Drugs are a relatively small piece of the overall health puzzle that hit employees and consumers. Still, they’re apparent pocketbook issues and popular targets for elected officials seeking simple solutions to complex health cost problems. Take, for example, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The IRA is the significant legislative effort that connects drug pricing to Medicare reimbursement. This piece of pivotal legislation has industry executives and investors up at night considering the law’s provisions on direct negotiation, Part D coverage and the inflation price cap.

Utilization Offsets Price Reductions – We Hope

As industry champions navigate (or confront) legislative issues, those same stakeholders must collaborate with payers, policymakers, providers, and patient communities to ensure that future policies result in a health system that supports innovation and provides greater access. That was a core reason pharma companies came to the Obamacare table enthusiastically.  Greater access translates into more utilization, which offsets price reductions.

Biopharma industry advocates’ biggest fear is that pricing flexibility and profitability loss will negatively affect drug discovery and development investment. Policymakers hopefully recognize that there’s some truth in this pushback. Lawmakers must explore ways to incentivize drug innovation, such as tax credits and grants for research and development in critical areas while promoting cost-cutting and affordability measures.

Top 10 2024 Public Health and Legislative Issues to Watch

• Access

Policies to reduce healthcare disparities and improve affordability expand access to care for underserved populations, while initiatives to incentivize healthcare workers to serve in underserved communities improve access. While addressing cost, drug pricing reforms impact pharmaceutical companies’ ability to invest in research and development, potentially affecting the availability of new treatments.

There can be no “villains” in fixing the access conundrum. Collaboration is a must! No one can debate in good faith that a healthier population reduces overall health costs.  But does anyone care enough to act? The US health GDP is unsustainable as it nears 20%. That does not mean we should turn away from expanding access. It requires Congress to finally accept that the Affordable Care Act isn’t going anywhere and look to refine it, making timely access that keeps disease at bay a bipartisan ideal.

While the IRA will reduce the burden of cost around insulin and other medications for seniors, it does not resolve the access to care challenge for millions of Americans. Payers must consider their role in helping people with chronic conditions and reduce the chaos resulting from non-medical switching.

• Affordability

Affordability remains the chief concern of the public, legislators, and the health industry. Rising health costs put immense pressure on patients, payers, and providers. Public policies are expected to address this issue through price transparency, cost-control mechanisms, and expanded access to affordable health options. The heat on biopharma companies will continue to increase. 

• Climate Change and Health

The intersection of climate change and public health is inescapable. Policies addressing climate change and its health impact will lead to peer-review research and climate technology approaches in health, such as adapting infrastructure to deal with extreme weather, air-quality warnings, and debunking myths that climate change has no human health impact. Bottomline, the planet doesn’t need people!  People need the planet.  Keep planet earth healthy!

• Data Security

Health data is going digital – all the way. With the increasing digitization, protecting people’s data is paramount. Stricter data privacy and security regulations require companies to invest in advanced cybersecurity measures, pumping the brakes on some innovations due to compliance needs. Prioritizing cybersecurity requires technology, training, and investment. How can hospitals keep pace with digital health innovation and meet their skilled staff and resourcing needs? Federal policy leaders will need to consider special appropriations to make that feasible. Otherwise, more community-based hospital systems will go broke.

• Drug Access and Equity

Ensuring equitable access to medications is pressing. Policymakers must focus on reducing disparities in drug access, potentially through IRA-like pricing reforms, which will negatively impact the pharmaceutical industry’s profit margins. We must also closely examine how pharmacists can play a more significant role in dispensing medications for specific medical conditions. Pharmacists are in almost every community – hospitals can be hours away.

Addressing healthcare disparities, particularly in underserved and rural communities, cannot be lip service. Rural communities have higher burdens of preventable conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and injury compared to urban populations. Public health policies must prioritize improving women’s health, preventive education and health access and increasing representation in clinical trials. This requires mobilization from varied government agencies working with the private and nonprofit sectors to deploy resources to hotspots suffering from limited access to health care providers and social services.

• Health Worker Burnout

The healthcare workforce is strained due to an aging population and increased service demand. According to one recent survey, one in three workers planned to leave their position, with 14 percent of respondents saying they were prepared to go the discipline entirely in 2024. Public health policies must address workforce shortages and pilot innovative training, telemedicine, and technology approaches to support the physician/patient relationship beyond simply pressuring doctors by increasing workflow to see more patients daily.

• Innovation Vulnerabilities

Lawmakers are looking closely at reforming the patent system to prevent abuses that stymie generic drug competition. Stricter regulations on patent extensions and exclusivity periods encourage competition and lower drug prices. However, the problem has been that the largest generic drug companies deploy vast legal teams, challenging innovator patents and using these suits as “blackmail” to secure deals, positioning early market generic entry. “Pay for delay” is a double-edged sword. Congress must strengthen patent protection if it elects to lower the bar for generic companies to compete.

• Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the mental health crisis to the front pages. It took a taboo topic and gave families permission to go public with their burden.  Mental health stigma is an obstacle to treatment.  Schools and employers must champion public health policies that continue prioritizing mental health services. Likewise, policymakers must push for long-needed action in higher and primary education settings, digital mental health platforms and through increased accessibility to mental health care.

• Pandemic Readiness

We failed! Communication is always part of the health delivery and access process! The shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a systemic lack of preparedness, underscoring the need for better response strategies based on the learnings from acknowledged failures. Public health policies in 2024 are likely to prioritize investments in research, vaccine distribution, and infrastructure to ensure readiness for what is almost certain a stream of future pandemics. This will drive innovation in vaccine development, distribution systems, and, yes, the need to add public health communication expertise.

• Telehealth

Telehealth has seen explosive growth in recent years, driven by the pandemic, patient-care convenience, and a need to reduce carbon impact. Policymakers must balance the accessibility and convenience of telehealth with ensuring quality of care and data security. Stricter regulations impact the telehealth and digital health industry, and watchdog groups must prioritize access, avoiding the quicksand of reimbursement disadvantages and physician styles. Telehealth must be prioritized to ensure it’s not just about urgent access but also about making care easier for the consumer. Face it, the consumer – while certainly core to all the top issues – is rarely the center of attention of the system.  That must change and telehealth is a clear benefit for patients.

Election 2024 Will Place Health and Cost In the Spotlight

These health issues ought to be at the forefront of Congress’s agenda to strike a balance between fostering continued waves of drug innovation and ensuring Americans can access medications at affordable prices. 2024 promises to be transformative for the health industry, driven by public health policy issues and filtered through the distorting lens of an election year. Innovation is about more than discovering and developing new products. It translates into access to care with policies targeting affordability, tackling health disparities, and increasing mental health services.

Driven by technological and health information advancements, changing demographics, and shifts in public health priorities, the life science industry is constantly evolving. Public policy makes Presidential and state candidate debates entertaining – and worrisome. Suggested policies that shape the operating landscape for hospitals, biopharma companies, and digital health companies are designed to protect the public interest. But the public’s needs and business must not conflict.

What can we expect will happen? Check your crystal ball!

The post The Top 10 Public Health Policy Issues for Election Year 2024 appeared first on Medika Life.