Last week’s HLTH 2025 conference in Las Vegas signaled a definitive shift in the healthcare industry: AI has moved past the hype cycle and is now a core utility focused on execution, accountability, and measurable ROI. To understand the gravity of this turning point, we reached out to a diverse group of executives, physician leaders, and technologists to synthesize the major themes, innovations, and challenges witnessed on the show floor.
Their collective feedback highlights that health systems are no longer interested in proofs of concept; they demand clinically validated solutions that seamlessly embed intelligence into workflows, drive financial integrity, and deliver human-centered care, particularly in areas like women’s health, behavioral support for GLP-1s, and complex pediatric care.
Brigham Hyde, CEO and Co-Founder of Atropos Health
“The women’s health market has been steadily growing and picking up much-needed traction over the last few years. At HLTH, we saw a deeper focus on women’s health through the volume of conversations and innovations on the showfloor – with founders and investors bringing fresh ideas to the table about transforming care delivery and generating personalized health insights for women. I believe we need to place a larger emphasis on building real-world evidence to bridge the existing evidence gap in women’s health, to enable providers to properly care for more than half of the population, and inform new treatments and clinical approaches.”
Dr. Amy Bucher, Chief Behavioral Officer at Lirio
“At HLTH (and more broadly) GLP-1s are dominating the conversation about patient adherence and wellbeing, and the topic itself was much more present across different types of presentations this year than in past years. However, few vendors seemed to touch on GLP-1s in any meaningful way. Conversations had within my panel, and elsewhere at the conference, revealed that many people in the industry recognize that a lot of work still needs to be done to support those on GLP-1s. The healthcare industry still has a lot of room to grow in terms of helping patients stay adherent to GLP-1s, including providing them with behavioral support from the very earliest days.”
Dr. Joy Bhosai, MD, MPH, Founder and CEO of Pluto Health
AI was front and center, and I think the largest question coming out of this is how this will demonstrate outcomes and improve care to show demonstrated ROI. As companies make claims on becoming an indispensable resource for patients, providers, and payors, they’ll also need to double down on clinical validation, providing real-world evidence studies, and clear measurement of efficiency, cost savings, and patient impact.
David Bates, CEO and co-founder, Linus Health
“At HLTH this year, we saw a sharper focus on how AI can move beyond pilot projects and become the foundation of a new standard of care. The winners will be the solutions that are validated, accessible, and able to integrate into real clinical workflows. This is where the promise of AI-powered digital health becomes reality for millions of patients.”
Charles Lee, MD, Senior Director of Clinical Knowledge, FDB (First Databank, Inc.)
“At HLTH this year, we saw a stronger focus on educating and empowering patients at critical decision-making points via AI tools. One area that deserves attention is how we can reinforce clearer patient understanding of their medications though concise, just-in-time resources accessible to nurses and frontline team members right at the bedside. Likewise, when patients leave the hospital, they feel safer, more confident, and more likely to adhere to their treatment plan. We will continue to hear more about AI solutions that bring clinicians and patients together in those first moments to build trust and set the stage for better health outcomes.”
Kem Graham, VP of growth & strategy, CliniComp
“A central message from this year’s HLTH conference was the healthcare industry’s rapid move toward real-time, AI-driven intelligence embedded directly into clinical workflows. With analytics tools now integrated into EHR systems, clinicians are making quicker, more informed decisions based on standardized, trustworthy data. Leading health systems are no longer viewing data as a retrospective reporting function but as a proactive partner in driving better patient outcomes and operational efficiency.”
Greg Miller, VP of Business Development at Carta Healthcare
“The most valuable conversations at HLTH25 centered on how health systems can trust their data enough to act on it. Automation and savings mean little without confidence in data accuracy and transparency. What resonated most with me was the growing focus on intelligent automation that accelerates workflows, safeguards data integrity, and ultimately delivers measurable value for both clinicians and executive leaders.”
Oren Nissim, CEO and cofounder at Brook Health
“HLTH reinforced that always-on, AI-enabled care is here now—but the real winners are those making it human and effortless. When smart data and clinical insight come together in seamless, intuitive ways, patients engage like they do with any other native digital experience—building trust, empowerment, and sustainable impact.”
Malcolm Fogarty, Strategic Advisor to Lindus Health
“At HLTH, AI stopped being a headline and became a utility. The conversation has shifted from experimentation to execution—how to embed intelligence into clinical trial design, recruitment, and data analysis to remove friction and human error. The next frontier isn’t more AI models; it’s operational AI that quietly makes trials faster, safer, and more equitable.”
Heather Grey, SVP/GM of RWD and Clinical Trials at Omega Healthcare
“AI is transforming real-world data curation from a manual, retrospective process into a dynamic, intelligence-driven engine for discovery. By applying advanced models to capture, abstract, and harmonize data from diverse sources, health systems, healthtech companies, and pharma companies are unlocking new levels of precision, speed, and scalability. The true potential lies in how AI and machine learning can continuously validate, enrich, and adapt datasets — with a human in the loop to ensure the highest levels of accuracy — turning fragmented information into a living ecosystem of insights. This evolution is redefining how healthcare learns from its own experience, driving smarter decisions, faster innovation, and more equitable outcomes.”
David Pessis, Chief Product & Technology Officer, PointClickCare
“HLTH25 made it clear that the industry has moved past the hype phase of AI and into a new era of accountability. The real innovation now lies in how responsibly trained models can turn fragmented clinical data into actionable intelligence that supports human decision-making. What stood out to me was the shared commitment across the ecosystem to use AI not just to automate, but to elevate care quality while enabling transparency to foster trust in the technology guiding it.”
Patricia Hayes, MD, chief medical officer, Imagine Pediatrics
“What stood out to me most at HLTH was an increased awareness of how much fragmentation has historically shaped healthcare and how that is changing, especially for children with special health care needs. We now have the interoperability infrastructures to do better, and more organizations are focused on connecting these systems to ensure that they don’t remain disconnected. The future of pediatric care depends on bringing health plans, clinicians, caregivers, and data together in ways that allow for proactive and personalized response that is centered on the child and lived experience of the family. It is clear that integration is no longer optional and is what will allow us to truly improve outcomes and experience in a meaningful way.”
Kim Perry, chief growth officer, emtelligent
“This year marked a clear turning point for healthcare AI. Health systems aren’t just testing models anymore; they’re deploying solutions that are improving workflows, revenue performance, and clinical outcomes. The industry is maturing and beginning to deliver on the promise of AI in everyday operations.”
Patrick Lane, President, Health Gorilla
“At HLTH in Las Vegas, we continued an important conversation around patient consent and data sharing. Patients should decide who can access their data, for what purpose, and for how long. The industry is advancing toward more sophisticated consent frameworks that put patients in control—building trust and unlocking innovation across healthcare.”
Justin Schrager, MD, CMO and cofounder, Vital.io
“Very interesting to see big tech and health tech converging around agentic systems and patient-facing AI at HLTH25. We have an amazing opportunity to get this right for patients as we design and implement what will be a generation-defining moment of health information democratization.”
Julie Schulz, MD, MPH, VP of Product, Avalon Healthcare Solutions
“What really struck me at HLTH was how diagnostic intelligence is starting to drive real, scalable change in healthcare. As a physician trained in public health, it’s exciting to see data and diagnostics coming together to guide smarter, more sustainable care—helping us use therapies more effectively, reduce waste, and make the system work better for every patient.”
