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The news: Consumers who are more familiar with AI are also more likely to mistrust an AI-assisted diagnosis from their doctor, per a recently published Journal of Medical Internet Research survey. Our take: Physicians and healthcare marketers can鈥檛 assume people who are familiar with AI will be more comfortable with AI uses in healthcare. Marketers need to talk about AI as a tool with many positive effects like freeing doctors for longer personal interactions and resulting in fewer mistakes.

The news: More than 60 healthcare and technology players, including Amazon, Apple, Google, UnitedHealth Group, and OpenAI, signed a voluntary pledge put forth by the Trump administration to make it easier for consumers to access their medical data. Our take: It鈥檚 not the first time that industry players have pledged to improve health data sharing鈥攂ut we haven鈥檛 seen enough progress due to a lack of accountability or enforcement. Many consumers also likely have concerns about how tech companies will use and protect their personal information.

And 64% said major tech companies like Google, Apple, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft don鈥檛 care about their mental health or well-being. Trust issues: Sixty-two percent of teens lack confidence that tech companies will protect their safety when profits are at stake, and about half (52%) doubt that their personal information will be kept secure.

Although Substack is ad-free, for now, it鈥檚 a valuable channel for brands and companies to reach niche audiences and engage with consumers in a trusted, more personal environment.

Even people without diabetes are beginning to use the monitors as personal health tracking devices. Abbott and Dexcom both launched over-the-counter CGMs in the past year. Abbott鈥檚 Lingo and Libre Rio and Dexcom鈥檚 Stelo are designed for people who don鈥檛 use insulin.

Healthcare disparities restrict care, intensify chronic disease, and inflate costs. Fewer than half of Black and Hispanic consumers visited a primary care physician in the past year. In 2024, 43.2% of Black consumers and 49.7% of Hispanic consumers did so compared with 65.2% of total consumers, per our December 2024 US Digital Health survey.

鈥淚 think that they're most like Boomers in that there is this deep care for self-preservation and convenience.鈥�. When brands base their consumer research solely on age, they risk overlooking valuable audiences, 鈥攅specially when generational findings are often in flux.

The firm commissioned Sage Growth Partners to survey 500 adults and 85 providers, including 46 primary care physicians and 39 cardiologists, across the US in Q3 2024. Respondents answered questions about wearables (defined as smartwatches, smart rings, and personal fitness devices) and electrocardiogram technology.

That鈥檚 why influencer marketing has taken off鈥攖he popular influencers have cultivated trust with their followers over time, because they present like friends who are giving advice because they care. And they also present products and topics in a way that鈥檚 personal to them, such as offering product reviews with unfiltered reactions.

Google鈥檚 FitBit and Pixel Watch devices may soon get a personal health LLM that can give users personalized activity and exercise recommendations. An AI-based health coach is in development for the Apple Watch, dubbed Quartz, per Bloomberg鈥攖hough it appears progress on this project has slowed.

The news: UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons after holding the position for just over four years. Stephen J. Hemsley, who served as the company鈥檚 CEO from 2016 to 2017, will take over with Witty moving to an advisory role. How we got here: The last year-plus for UnitedHealth under Witty has been tumultuous.

Why we care: Consumers are increasingly turning to online channels to purchase luxury goods, and if brands want to stay relevant, they鈥檒l need to forge ecommerce partnerships like this. We forecast personal luxury retail ecommerce sales in the US will grow 10.3% next year to reach $24.48 billion. Photo: Saks/Dior, courtesy of Paul Vu. 4. 鈥淩eal Housewives鈥� and Uber Eats.

Physicians providing routine care rely more on social media as a professional resource than do specialists. Primary care providers, internists, and pediatricians are heavier social media users than other clinicians, such as neurologists, hematologists, and gastroenterologists, per LiveWorld.

Consumers鈥� telehealth satisfaction varies from visit to visit: We explore the competitive telehealth market and examine how virtual care players are adapting to remain viable.