Tom Lawry

Tom Lawry • January 16, 2024

Fixing Healthcare is a Generational Thing

In 2013, the movie “Her” won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The genius of this sci-fi romance was that it took place in the not-too-distant future when the world would be dominated by Millennials (those born between 1982-1997). The movie’s main character, Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix), falls in love with an intelligent operating system named Samantha. We catch glimpses throughout the movie of a future where the Millennials’ love of intelligent technology is ingrained into every aspect of society.


Fast-forward to the present day. One out of every three adults in America is a Millennial. By 2025 Millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce.[i]


And for the record, there are in fact reported cases of humans ending up in therapy because they fell in love with their virtual assistants.[ii]


Millennials and GenZers (those born in 1997 or later) have a love affair with smart technologies. After all, they are first generations to be “digital natives” and do not remember a time when the Internet, social media, and smart apps didn’t exist. As a result, they communicate, shop, and manage all aspects of their lives differently than the generations before them.


When it comes to healthcare, their expectations are no different. They want to schedule and complete a medical consultation from the same place they order dinner—their couch.[iii]


The Millennials and GenZers highlight the problems and the opportunities faced by healthcare today. Every generation is different. How we serve them is not. Healthcare today largely follows a one-size-fits-all approach to those they serve even though no two consumers are alike.


The days of providing the same experience to all patients and health consumers are ending. As we learned from the pandemic, a growing array AI and digitally driven apps are changing how healthcare works by making it a more personalized experience.


The future of healthcare will be driven by those who understand and embrace the tenet that optimal health experiences are generational.


Satisfaction with today’s health system varies by generation. Not surprisingly younger generations have the highest levels of dissatisfaction. They give the lowest marks for treatment effectiveness and convenience.[iv]


Improving satisfaction levels for all generations comes down to accommodating generational preferences. This means better matching the consumer’s needs with their experiences when interacting with the health system.


Look at something as basic as having a designated Primary Care Physician (PCP) who historically served as gatekeepers to services. A high percentage of older generations have a designated PCP because they grew up believing that all things passed through a “family doctor.”  In some ways, the PCP serves as their “app.”


Millennials and Gen Zers grew up in a time of online services, urgent care clinics, and retail health. They are less likely to use a system that requires being tethered to a PCP.  74% would rather see a doctor through telemedicine. And when a situation calls for more than a video chat, they want to avoid a primary care doctor and go straight to specialists and alternative solutions.[v] 


Providing the same patient experience across the board no longer works. Most consumers still want in-person visits, but younger generations prefer virtual over in-person care. Among Gen Z,


  • 41% prefer a virtual or digital experience with a doctor or other medical professional, along with 33% of millennials.[vi]
  • Almost half of all Millennials trust big tech companies to provide health and wellness services.  [vii]  
  • Twenty-five percent of consumers are open to seeking and receiving care from brands such as Walmart and CVS.
  • Even among seniors, more than one in four would consider receiving virtual care from these new purveyors of health services.[viii]


Spurred by the pandemic, the health consumer movement will continue to unfold. Successful organizations will offer services better geared towards the lifestyles, preferences, and values of those being served. 


Health Preferences Differ by Generation table.


Preferences vary by generation, but the overarching trend among all health consumers is the growing use of data, AI, and digital solutions that allow health consumers of all ages to manage health services on their terms.


Consumers today expect intelligent technologies to make health services more effective and personalized. Their preferences are driving the development of AI-enabled, seamlessly connected clinician-patient interactions.


While providing for those who are sick or injured remains important, consumers are also demanding a focus shift from just healthcare to health and well-being. This means more resources (time, money, and attention) will be allocated from the end of the healthcare value chain (treatment and aftercare) to the beginning.[iThis includes greater focus and investment in promoting healthy lifestyles, vitality, and wellness, primary and secondary prevention, and early diagnosis.


New AI and digitally driven services are connecting consumers to manage health and wellness based on the needs and preferences of each person served. Such services will not replace but rather augment provider teams who can work within more flexible and digitally-enabled care environments to transform services being provided.


This means that the care experience will be more seamless across all care settings. Innovative health organizations are responding with new options like virtual-first health plans and digital front doors.


As we enlist the power of data and intelligent systems to better understand and manage each individual's health, we can personalize the experience to better fit the unique values, needs, and life circumstances of individuals and populations. 


A new value chain is emerging around health data that goes beyond the typical data captured and used by traditional health systems.


In the future, consumers will have more access to and control over their data through intelligent digital technologies. As this occurs, the historical dynamics that have benefited Traditional Health Systems will give way to a growing population of informed and empowered health consumers.


Going forward, health consumers will no longer be bound by the processes used by longstanding healthcare system incumbents. Instead, consumers will create their own personal health management “ecosystems” quite literally in the palms of their hands. They will do this by using cloud-based tools based on their own preferences. This includes clinical preferences such as how they wish to monitor and manage their health and healthcare. It will also allow them to personalize how they manage their health benefits and payments.


As this movement grows, two realities are likely. One is that the change taking place will be driven or facilitated by better use of a variety of data to power intelligent apps and experiences. The second is that fundamental shifts in the current balance of power will occur. Going forward health consumers will increasingly vote with their feet and wallets in seeking out the services that best meet their health and convenience needs.

 

References Used In this Blog:


 [i] Beth Jones Sanborn, 'Digital natives' will lead the healthcare consumer revolution, HealthcareIT News, March 26, 2018, https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/digital-natives-will-lead-healthcare-consumer-revolution

[ii] XiaoIce robot users have ended up in therapy for falling in love with their Artificial Intelligence, Entrepreneur, August 26, 2021, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/381966

[iii] Beth Jones Sanborn, 'Digital natives' will lead the healthcare consumer revolution, HealthcareIT News, March 26, 2018, https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/digital-natives-will-lead-healthcare-consumer-revolution

[iv] Today’s consumers reveal the future of healthcare, Accenture, February 12, 2019, https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/health/todays-consumers-reveal-future-healthcare

[v] What Millennials Want When It Comes To Healthcare, MediaPost, December 23, 2016, https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/291796/what-millennials-want-when-it-comes-to-healthcare.html

[vi] How can Health Leaders Make Digital Health Gains Last?, Accenture, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-130/Accenture-2020-Digital-Health-Consumer-Survey-US.pdf

[vii] Ibid

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] John Luijs, Mathieu van Bergen, and Lucien Engelen, The health(care) future of the Netherlands, Deloitte, 2020.w Paragraph

Dinner with the Real Jerry Macguire

By Tom Lawry • March 15, 2025
Remember the movie, Jerry Maguire? (Show me the money!). I had dinner last week with Leigh Steinberg…the real Jerry Maguire who was personified in the movie by Tom Cruise. Leigh is a legend in the sports world. Leigh has been one of the greatest advocates in calling attention to the devastating effects of concussions and brain injuries in sports. From the NFL to pee wee sports, Leigh is the guy who drove visibility and protections for athletes everywhere. I had the privilege of being on stage at HIMSS25 with Leigh to talk about his great work and what's ahead for the treatment and prevention of concussions and brain injuries, neuroplasticity, and the future of brain health. T.

Health Care Nation Debuts at Las Vegas Launch Event

By Tom Lawry • March 15, 2025
Special thanks to my publisher, Taylor and Francis, for organizing a "soft launch" event in Las Vegas last week for my new book Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think. While the official launch happens on March 28th with all major booksellers, we had advance copies available for sale. It was great fun to do my first book signings. Already getting good feedback from early readers. A big thank you to early buyers and readers. 

The Conversation Americans Should Be Having as the United States Pulls Out of the World Health Organization

By Tom Lawry • February 7, 2025
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Australian Talk Tour February 12-21

By Tom Lawry • February 5, 2025
Excited to be heading to Australia this week as part of a five-city talk tour organized by UBS Australia. They’ve assembled a great lineup of speakers who will be exploring the evolving global landscape in business and health tech. I'm keynoting on what's next for AI. The cities and dates for the tour include: Brisbane: February 12 Adelaide: February 13 Melbourne: February 17 Sydney: February 18 Perth: February 20 Along the way I'll also be catching up with some of my favorite AI and digital health experts who are doing great things "Down Under." Oh yeah… It’s summertime in Australia. Not so much in Seattle. T.

DeepSeek and the Changing AI Landscape

By Tom Lawry • January 28, 2025
I’ve been pondering how many journalists and podcasters I’ve ticked off when answering this question: Where will AI be in a year? My answer has always been simple and honest: No one knows. This week the Chinese start-up DeepSeek is the latest shift in AI’s tectonic plates. Seemingly out of nowhere, it became the top-rated AI app in the United States. Deepseek’s new, open-source AI model rivals the abilities of OpenAI's most recent model—with far less investment and using reduced-capacity chips. Training costs for ChatGPT-4 were over $100 million. Deepseek’s investment was supposedly $6 million. Deepseek’s model improves energy efficiency making AI more accessible to more people and industries and could be welcomed news when it comes to AI’s environmental impact. There’s a lot to be learned about Deepseek’s capabilities. For now, it certainly ups the ante in the AI “space race” for global tech titans and governments. I can hear the hype machines starting to churn as I write this. Here’s a solid piece from Scientific American that outlines what is known. And so: Where will AI be in a year? No one knows. T.

New Book -Health Care Nation

By Tom Lawry • January 23, 2025
I am pleased to announce that I have a new book coming in April. Whether a patient, health consumer, physician, nurse, health executive, or elected official, somewhere deep in our brains is this simple truth: the American health system isn’t working, and it will only get worse if we don’t do something about it. Despite spending more money per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, the U.S. struggles to match other nations in life expectancy, health outcomes and general well-being. Meanwhile the system spends more on unnecessary, ineffective and wasteful services than what we collectively invest in K-12 education in America. All the while, our health status is declining. For the first time kids born today may not live as long as their older siblings. Health Care Nation shines a light on the deep interconnectedness between the health of people and the health of a nation. It’s about the opportunity and responsibility each of us has to reimagine and reengineer a system that focuses on keeping all citizens healthy and caring for them when they are not. Health Care Nation takes readers on a journey to understand the fundamental issues driving the system in the wrong direction. It focuses on helping each reader find or sharpen their voice in what should change based on their views, values and experiences. Health Care Nation awakens readers to the possibilities that exist today that are right in front of us if only we choose to see them. It creates an understanding of the forces at work in healthcare today that are driving us in the wrong direction, instilling readers with a sense of activism that mobilizes them to take action. The ultimate goal of this book is to help everyone find and use their voice to drive positive change. Health Care Nation is designed to help readers understand the role they can play and actions they can take to determine the health and economic well-being for generations to come. My publisher is doing an early book launch at the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas March 3-6. Would love to see you if attending. Look for me at the HIMSS bookstore near the exhibit hall. I'll be signing advance copies. Health Care Nation is also available for preorder on Amazon. For more information about the book go to www.healthcarenation.us .

AI in 2025 - Three Things to Know

By Tom Lawry • January 6, 2025
With January comes a sea of predictions for 2025. Many are insightful, but if you're a health leader tracking AI developments, here are three emerging themes to pay attention to. The Great AI Pivot: From FOMO to Value Since the Fall of 2022, AI hasn’t been just a technological shift—it’s been a cultural phenomenon. Conversations about AI spread from the conference room to the dinner table. Organizations adopted it at breakneck speed, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) drove up to 60% of AI’s recent adoption. One study found that 63% of leaders feared their organizations would fall behind if they didn’t join the AI gold rush. In the coming year, forward-thinking leaders will pivot from pursuing limited-value AI applications to investing in ecosystems of people and processes that generate scalable, repeatable value (think innovation flywheel). This is a different mindset compared to the approach taken by many leaders in the last two years. It’s a recognition that AI is here to stay and that creating “value-at-scale” requires the adoption of a growth mindset for what’s ahead.

Welcome to 2025

By Tom Lawry • December 29, 2024
Welcome to 2025! I'm hopeful it's the year that we'll move from AI FOMO (fear of missing out) to focusing on driving value at scale in support of our missions and enterprises. To get started, Deloitte’s 16th annual Tech Trends report is a great quick read. AI is the common thread of nearly every trend. Moving forward, it will be part of the substructure of everything we do. The report is available here . Here's to an intelligent new year! T.

Keynoting APAC's Largest MedTech Conference

By Tom Lawry • August 30, 2024
Looking forward to being back in Singapore next week to speak at/attend APACMed 2024. Healthcare across Asia Pacific is changing. Consumers are increasingly gravitating towards health organizations that provide greater convenience. This includes the use of digital and AI solutions that allow them to be more involved in managing their health.
Intelligent Aging is Healthcare’s Moonshot

Intelligent Aging is Healthcare’s Moonshot

By Tom Lawry • March 28, 2024
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