It was an energizing start to HLTH USA 2025 here in Las Vegas! As host of The Big Unlock podcast and a media attendee, I spent the day immersed in conversations, sessions, and stories that set the tone for a transformative week ahead in healthcare innovation.

• The event opened with a full slate of partner programs—from Value-Based Care to Pharma and Clinician tracks—each tackling the urgent need for integration, data transparency, and sustainable value creation in care delivery.
• The opening keynote and welcome session brought palpable momentum. Mark Cuban’s fiery take on drug pricing and transparency reminded everyone that the business of healthcare must evolve to serve patients better.
• AI was everywhere—not as a buzzword, but as a practical tool already reshaping clinical workflows, patient access, and decision-making. The message was clear: AI-native healthcare isn’t coming; it’s already here.

The networking floor buzzed with startups, investors, and providers exploring collaborations that could define the next generation of digital health solutions.

Thanks for following along. Day 2 brought depth, signal and high-energy exchanges at HLTH USA 2025. I’m looking forward to what tomorrow brings — stay tuned for more insights from Las Vegas!

What stood out on Day 2:

• Key thematic zones took centre-stage:
  • The AI & Emerging Technology Zone from ~10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, where practical deployment stories and ethical frameworks were front-and-centre.
  • The Diagnostics Zone ran concurrently, highlighting how imaging, molecular, data-driven diagnostics are positioning themselves differently.
  • The Pharma & Life Sciences track, was also active between ~10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, with interesting panels including how AI is reshaping drug development and distribution.
• Award moments added high-energy: e.g., the “Digital Health Hub AI Awards,” “Diagnostics Awards,” and later the Women @ HLTH reception in the evening. HLTH+1

On the floor, I heard consistent themes such as scaling from pilot to production, moving beyond idealistic AI demos, and diagnostic-enabled value models (vs just imaging tech).

Day 3 at HLTH USA 2025 was where boundaries blurred between breakthroughs in diagnostics, bioinformatics, and clinical intelligence — a powerful convergence making precision medicine accessible, scalable, and actionable. Conversations today revolved around how AI isn’t just augmenting care — it’s anticipating it.

From liquid biopsy breakthroughs to digital pathology and point-of-care testing innovations, the Diagnostics Zone became a hub for collaboration between AI, cloud, and clinical labs. Companies showcased advances that shifted healthcare from reactive to predictive — reducing diagnostic delays and driving early intervention across oncology, cardiology, and rare diseases.

The AI Zone was standing room only for Microsoft Health’s deep dive into contextual AI agents designed to accelerate provider insights in real time. Meanwhile, investor and startup dialogues underscored how trust and traceability in data pipelines remain central to AI’s adoption in diagnostics and population health.

Themes from the main stage extended this thread — with providers calling for smarter integration between diagnostic intelligence and reimbursement workflows, and innovators urging joint accountability between payers, developers, and clinicians.

Walking through the show floors, it was clear that HLTH isn’t just hosting dialogues — it’s brokering the future of connected care. In the words of one panelist: “Accuracy will always matter, but accessibility is where real impact begins.”

Tomorrow the event closes but today offered the clearest blueprint yet for AI-driven transformation that’s both ethical and executable.