The HLTH 2024 conference will kick off Sunday in Las Vegas with an expected 12,000 attendees from across the industry to plot the future of healthcare innovation.
Highlighted speakers during the conference include executive leaders from health systems, payers and digital health startups along with investors and non-traditional players like Kroger and Walgreens. Key policymakers, such as HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, also will take the stage to talk about the regulatory landscape.
Now in its seventh year, HLTH is expanding its reach into pharma and life sciences with a Pharma Insights program on Sunday and sessions focused on the consumerization of pharma and clinical trials. Featured speakers this year from the life sciences space include Kimberly Powell, VP, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Nvidia; Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO, Johnson and Johnson, Iker Huerga, chief data scientist at AstraZeneca and Karin Tollefson, chief oncology medical officer at Pfizer.
"“Seven years in HLTH has become the conference healthcare innovation needed! Now rivalling the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in impact, but with different purpose, I look forward to planned and gentle collisions with old-school healthcare, big tech and digital health companies; policy-makers and investors. This year, our Zus Health team is excited to engage in more discussion with all these parties on the power of shared data, the role AI can play, and resultingly, the increasingly real opportunity for far better care through what might be considered a single patient record,' said Jonathan Bush, CEO and founder of Zus Health.
Artificial intelligence is a standout topic on the HLTH agenda as buzz around generative AI and AI innovation dominates the industry. There are a number of speakers slated to talk about AI's impact on healthcare including GE Healthcare's Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, Dr. Andrew Diamond, chief medical officer at Amazon One Medical, Roland Illing, chief medical officer at Amazon Web Services. Executives from Moderna and Novo Nordisk also will be discussing AI's use in drug discovery.
Meta executive Freddy Abnousi will be on hand Sunday to dive into AI-powered wearables.
“I’m excited to hear from fellow innovators how they plan to democratize AI and harness vast data points to empower clinicians to make faster, better decisions at scale—without adding workflow burdens," Michael Meucci, President and CEO at Arcadia, said. "Our industry is at a critical moment where we have an incredible amount of data at our fingertips. Providers can harness that data to deliver better care and to benefit healthcare organizations as they look to drive better business performance. As the industry navigates how to best manage the large volume of healthcare data available today, it’s clear that AI and other emerging technologies, fueled by high-quality data, will help move the needle for the biggest and brightest healthcare organizations in the industry. The conversation around AI is evolving from the possible to how we enable care deliverers and their teams to act on abundance."
The future of retail health is also a key trend to watch as big players like Walgreens, CVS Health and Amazon continue to evolve their strategies. On Wednesday morning, Fierce Healthcare is hosting a partner program that will dive into retail health and primary care. Featured speakers include Vivek Garg, chief medical officer for Humana's Primary Care Organization, Included Health's Ankoor Shah, Geoffrey Ruttledge, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at HealthTap Sara Pastoor, head of Primary Care Advancement at Elation Health, K Health's Ethan Fischer and Bobby Shady, Heyday Health CEO.
The lineup also includes Robin Berzin, founder and CEO of Parsley Health, Nirav Vakharia, Chief Health Officer, Marathon Health, David Hatfield, Chief Physician Executive at VillageMD and Kerem Ozkay, CEO of Carbon Health.
For Nikole Benders-Hadi, M.D., Talkspace's chief medical officer, women's health is top of mind as she heads to the HLTH conference.
"Particularly how we can transform mental healthcare for all women. Women in the workplace go through many life stages, each with their own unique mental and physical health needs. So many women don't realize the immense mental load they carry day to day. Even for me, as a physician executive with two active boys, a busy schedule and multiple hats to wear, it's a lot," Benders-Hadi said. "Knowing where to go for mental health care is an important first step that employers can help with. Ahead of us is also an important opportunity to better integrate care options for women for a more holistic approach to care. We need care options that meet women's needs, no matter what those are, when and where they need it."
GLP-1s continue to be a major topic in healthcare, particuarly for health plans and employers. Executives from Lark, Accolade and WeightWatchers will tackle the cost management approaches for GLP-1s while leaders from knownwell, Noom, Hims & Hers and Nestle Health Science will discuss the market for companion products and services.
Also at HLTH, expect a big focus on healthy aging, longevity and senior care along with brain health. There are sessions covering the "silvertech tsunami," aging in place,
Leaders from Neurotrack, Linus Health, Kernel and neurologist Dr. Adrienne Boissy will tackle the latest advancements in brain health technology on Monday morning. On Tuesday, executives from Levels, 23andMe and Function will be on the main stage to dive into schools of thought on healthy aging. There's also a Healthy Aging Summit on Wednesday morning that will explore innovative models of preventive care, agetech and digital solutions.
Last year, Kaiser Permanente launched Risant Health and made waves when it acquired Geisinger Health, and then announced plans to acquire Cone Health. On Sunday, Greg Adams, Chair and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, will share more details about Risant Health's work.
Looking over the agenda, props to the most eye-catching session name: "Everybody Poops," which features executives from Seed Health, Parsley Health, Pendelum and Supergut talking about gut health.