AI everywhere. Humans still win.

Hey Health Techies!

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the HLTH conference in Las Vegas, one of the biggest healthcare innovation conferences of the year. It was my first time there even though I’ve been wanting go for a quite a few years now. Among other things, I learned that there’s nothing quite like walking through the HLTH conference floor — part tech expo, part reunion, part window into where the future of healthcare is headed.

HLTH 2025 was a reminder of why I started Hey Health Tech in the first place: to make sure clinicians don’t just watch the future of healthcare happen — we need to be helping build it.

I spent the week talking with founders, product teams, and fellow clinician-creators, soaking in conversations about everything from ambient AI scribes to equity-driven design. The energy was electric, but the message was clear: innovation without real impact is just empty hype.

So, in this week’s newsletter, I’m taking you behind the scenes — the sessions that stood out, the companies making waves, and the biggest takeaways for clinicians curious about the tech side of medicine.

✨ Big picture vibes

• The dominant theme? AI of course.

• But even more than the tech: the conversation shifted toward purpose, equity, and human-first design. Not just “can we build it?” but should we — and how do we make it meaningful?

• Mark Cuban spoke on day 1, and it was clearly a crowd favorite and really set the tone for the event. Unfortunately, I missed it. I was dealing with major flight delays getting to Las Vegas. But it sounds like he was extremely candid and dropped a few choice words about the state of the system. People were referencing his talk for several days after it happened. Here’s a snippet I found from @nurserosaspeaks on TikTok.

❤️ Things I loved

1️⃣ The people

If HLTH 2025 proved anything, it’s that the best part of health tech isn’t the tech — it’s the people. I met so many amazing friends, and it was incredible to see such talent all in one space.

There’s such an energy around collaboration — the “we’re all figuring this out together” kind that is really amplified at a live event like this. The hallway and casual dinner conversations were as good as the sessions.

2️⃣ The positivity

We all know that the healthcare system needs a lot of work, yet the tone of HLTH is refreshingly optimistic. Everywhere I looked, people were talking about possibilities. And it’s nice to surround yourself with that for a little while even though you know that the realities of the day to day make those possibilities pretty darn hard to execute sometimes.

3️⃣ The progress

What once felt like buzzwords now looks like real movement. In my favorite talk that I attenteded, called AI’s Power Trio: Documentation, Devices, and Data, GE Healthcare’s Enterprise Solutions President expressed a commitment to moving “beyond the buzz,” and I think clinicians are ready for that. Ambient AI is making documentation lighter. Data sharing is (slowly) improving. I’m excited to see the needle continuing to move in the right direction.

🧩 What this means for you

Use these HLTH insights as inspiration for your own growth or learning plan for the upcoming year:

• Create posts or reflections around themes like “Why clinicians are the missing piece in AI adoption.” These companies need clinician insight, and if you’re willing to share, I’m confident you’ll find an audience.

• If posting isn’t for you, that’s ok too. How could you lean into your curiosity in the space? What innovative tools could you get your hands on to try? Perhaps not a lifesize AI avatar that answers health questions (see picture below) but maybe something like Verily’s new patient-facing product, Verily Me.

✈️ Why I’ll be back next year

HLTH 2025 reminded me just how many people are working day in and day out to improve clinician and patient lives. It’s literally mind boggling how many companies are out there doing so many things in the space, and it’s inspirational to see.

Aside from the pure inspiration, I’m of course more committed than ever to my mission of getting more clinicians into the tech space. Clinicians have the context, empathy, and experience that tech desperately needs.

So here’s to the clinicians learning product terms, joining startups, and shaping the future one workflow at a time. You belong in the room where the next generation of healthcare is being built.

📰 Weekly Wrap-up

• UPS expands its reach into healthcare logistics with strategic acquistion

• FDA issues recall notice for Dexcom G6 Android app

📌 Job Board

Don’t miss these open roles 👀

• Associate Product Manager - Judi Health

• Project Manager - Cotiviti

• Customer Experience Manager - Nourish

• and more!

Until next time,

Lauren

P.S. Doors will be opening again soon for the Hey Health Tech Community, a space for clinicians to learn about innovations in patient care and network with peers. If you want to be the first to know when enrollment begins, join the waitlist. You’ll be hearing from me very soon!