HLTH launches council to vet health tech innovation
A new invitation-only collective, the HLTH Insights Council, has launched in the U.S. to act as a filter for meaningful innovation in the digital health and InsurTech sectors. The council aims to separate practical, impactful solutions from industry hype.
- The council's membership includes senior executives from major industry players such as Pfizer's EVP, Chief Digital & Technology Officer Lidia Fonseca, Microsoft's Global Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Rhew, and the President of Merck's Global Health Innovation Fund, William Taranto. - This new council will directly influence the agenda for HLTH's main annual event, which is expected to draw over 12,000 attendees, 400 speakers, and more than 900 sponsors, making it a key barometer of industry trends. - A primary goal of the council is to counter "next big thing" fatigue by focusing on practical implementation over speculative hype, particularly in AI, where investment has outpaced measurable clinical outcomes. - One area of focus is the "zombie algorithm phenomenon," where AI diagnostic tools become less effective over time as hardware, diseases, and patient populations change, creating liability issues for providers. - The group is shifting focus toward areas of practical investment consolidation, such as optimizing the clinical trial supply chain, a market expected to grow significantly due to the rise of decentralized trials and biologics. - The council's discussions will shape a year-round agenda, including quarterly "Executive Masterclasses" for HLTH members, addressing topics like scaling AI enterprise-wide and the future of direct-to-patient commercial models. - The formation of the council comes as InsurTech funding is rebounding, with two-thirds of the $5.08 billion invested in 2025 flowing to AI-focused companies, intensifying the need for expert vetting of these technologies. - The council's work will address the growing use of data from wearables and health apps by insurers for more precise underwriting, a trend that requires separating valuable data from noise.
