There’s a gap in usage and optimism, as nurses are more optimistic about AI improving care quality and outcomes.

Pharma’s new D2C sites can reduce barriers to care and treatment, but brands boost awareness of their platforms to drive adoption.

More physicians are using AI for clinical search, pushing tech companies to compete on speed, medical sourcing, and trust.

Future doctors will likely prescribe nutrition alongside drugs, but without insurer funding, prescribed meals will have limited impact.

Patients mostly want AI use to supplement professional advice, but stigma prevents them from admitting it. Providers and marketers can guide smarter, transparent AI use.

A Massachusetts judge halts recent vaccine recommendation changes, boosting medical professionals' sway with parents and patients—for now.

85% of healthcare orgs plan to boost agentic AI spending and expect near-term savings. Amazon has the technical edge, but may face an uphill battle against entrenched healthcare vendors.

Health apps are mainstream, but brands are having trouble keeping users engaged. Actionable, value-added AI features will be essential for many health apps to stay relevant.

Brands selling health supplements need transparency around their claims, or doctors won’t recommend them to patients.

Doctors watch less TV than the average US adult, but favor CTV and on-demand—which are prime time for targeted pharma messaging.

Clinicians and staff adopt “shadow AI” tools to move faster, exposing gaps in hospital AI strategy.

Nurses top Gallup’s poll, but trust in clinicians strains under broader healthcare discontent.

Drugmakers could ease fears of transactional, unsupervised prescribing by collaborating with patients’ regular care teams.

Health systems and health insurers are at risk of losing business due to the new law, but have an opportunity to proactively support patients through upcoming changes to Medicaid coverage.

Prominent clinicians and healthcare experts report a growing trend of bad actors using AI to impersonate them online and push unsafe products or unreliable medical information, according to a recent New York Times article. AI deepfakes may further discourage doctors from having their images and voices online. Social platforms must reassure healthcare creators about how they detect AI-driven scammers, enforce impersonation policies, and respond swiftly to deepfake reports.

The majority (86%) of healthcare professionals say AI affects their treatment decisions, although the degree ranges from significant to slight, per a recent DHC Group survey. Healthcare professionals are open to more AI use in medical practice, but they still prefer it as a support tool. Pharma companies should focus on advisory, not decision-making solutions that can help save physicians’ time and add clinical context.

Consumers without experience using digital health tools—like wearables, health apps, or devices to manage a condition—say they’d try one if recommended by a doctor or insurer, according to a recent report from Merge. Direct-to-consumer marketing isn’t the only effective way to drive digital health tool adoption. When it comes to their health, many consumers trust medical professionals over brands—giving health tech players a chance to further prove to insurers, employers, and doctors that their tools deliver real value.

Leading healthcare AI startups, including OpenEvidence, Abridge, UpToDate, and Doximity, are rolling out new products and capabilities in the race to compete for physician adoption and investment funding. Companies could gain an advantage by making their products easily integrated into clinicians’ existing workflows, such as their EHRs. Startups should also showcase the outcomes of their technology to influential stakeholders like medical associations to help establish credibility at the clinician level.

Americans’ trust in federal health agencies and political leaders continues to erode, but while many are confused about what to believe, they still want clearer guidance, per the latest Axios/Ipsos American Health Index. Federal agency staffing cuts, shifting vaccine guidance, and the glut of social media health information have fragmented Americans’ health trust. But trust hasn’t completely disappeared; it’s just gone local. Consumers still believe their doctors and families, creating an opening for healthcare and pharma brands to deliver clear, credible information through those trusted messengers.

The news: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released COVID-19 vaccine recommendations that contradict the federal government’s recent guidance shift. Our take: Conflicting vaccine guidance is creating confusion for patients and healthcare providers, while making public discourse on vaccines more divisive. The responsibility to fix this will now fall on local leaders. States, communities, and physicians must take charge. They need to deliver clear, evidence-based vaccine information directly to people through local clinics, schools, and pharmacies. They must also actively campaign for insurers to continue covering the shots.