In its fourth year, ViVE descended on Nashville for its annual digital health conference that focuses on the business of transformation in healthcare. With over 8,000 attendees and 300+ speakers, C-suite executives, health startups and investors, policymakers, and many others, gathered for four days filled with presentations and conversations on hot topics across the industry. Here are a few of the many compelling themes that emerged from some of the healthcare industry’s leading executives and trailblazers.
Virtual care is a critical lifeline in rural communities: With 35% of physicians expected to retire and rural populations continuing to age, virtual care has now become a necessity for rural communities, not just a nice-to-have. Fortunately, affordable AI tools continue to be implemented to drive more accessibility in areas with limited medical access, but this does not replace the human element of compassionate care. As such, continuing to embrace telehealth ensures providers and patients can engage no matter their location, providing equitable access to care, improved patient outcomes, reduced costs, all with a patient-centered approach.
AI must be empathetic when it comes to home care: Using AI to integrate primary care, pharmacy, and home health can create a seamless, patient-centered experience that addresses needs holistically. Using AI, providers can empower patients and improve outcomes by optimizing coordination, streamlining medication management, and delivering personalized care at home. However, there are also risks such as data security, hallucinations and the lack of understanding the emotional nuances of caring for patients. How to mitigate? Always ensure there is a human within the loop for the final stamp of “clinical validation” with a sprinkling of empathy for that needed level of sensitivity to the complexities of the human experience.
Primary care needs to normalize mental health conversations: Despite 75% of adults wishing their primary care visit included a check-in on their mental health, only a fraction are asked. This massive gap between patient expectation and current clinical practices that still exists is surprising considering the continued surge in demand of mental health support since the pandemic. So why don’t today’s primary care workflows include behavioral health screenings? Why aren’t primary care providers being trained to recognize mental health indicators and leverage screening protocols to identify those patients who might need mental health support? Most certainly because we still have much work to do to break down the traditional silos between physical and mental healthcare and create a more patient-centered approach that is seamless and normalizes mental health conversations.
Bad data and change management cannot be fixed by AI alone: Health systems are often rich in data, but poor when it comes to consistency and insights, which prevents meaningful AI deployment. There is a necessity to ensure a disciplined approach to data standardization and initiative-taking change management to ensure successful AI integration. So, before health systems attempt to integrate yet another AI solution, they must first ensure a comprehensive and clean data foundation with established sharing protocols that are ready for embracing a new AI family member.
Investors looking for the Swiss Army Knives in start-ups: With the purse strings tight across the funding landscape, strategic investors are looking beyond comprehensive platforms that are solely focused on improving operational efficiencies and patient outcomes, and rather turning towards solutions that are multi-functional, nimble, and can fully integrate with existing infrastructures. These “Swiss Army Knives” technologies must also stretch limited hospital dollars and deliver measurable value.
ViVE 2025 highlighted critical discussions shaping the future of healthcare and the importance of sharing our collective innovation. As the industry continues to evolve, strategic communication and marketing will be key in driving these transformative efforts forward.
If you are looking to enhance your healthcare marketing and communications strategies, please reach out to [email protected] – and let’s connect at HIMSS, March 3-5, to explore how V2 can be a partner in those endeavors.