INSIGHTS
Health Equity
Jennifer Simmons
Associate Director, Events
Katie Drasser
CEO
 With help from:
Claire Egan Doyle
September 12, 2024

Shaping the future of healthcare: Insights from Rock Health Summit 2024

Rock Health Summit 2024 gathered a diverse group of healthcare leaders on September 10 in San Francisco for a day of impactful conversations. The week kicked off with the Top 50 in Digital Health Awards the night before, where leaders across the ecosystem were honored for their innovation, perseverance, and service to making health care massively better for all.

This year’s Summit showcased a rich mix of perspectives from startups, venture capital, government, enterprise organizations, and more representing 13 countries and 29 states, underscoring the event’s purpose as a hub of progress and collaboration in healthcare. We were also joined by the recently announced 2024 RockHealth.org Innovation Fellows— a cohort of leaders developing solutions in various areas, including food and nutrition, personalized medicine, mental and behavioral health, and more.

The day’s discussions centered on key themes shaping the future of healthcare, from the impact of GLP-1 medications on obesity care (and beyond) to the evolving landscape of youth mental health solutions. We explored reimagined caregiving, the growing momentum behind food as medicine, and the future role of AI in healthcare. The conversations highlighted the trends and opportunities driving the next wave of healthcare innovation:

  • Building toward sustainability: The digital health market is still unpredictable. But we’re seeing a shift toward more sustainable, scalable business models—emphasizing operational discipline to achieve profitability as opposed to growth at all costs.
  • Personalized and accessible obesity care: GLP-1 medications are transforming obesity care, and there is opportunity for significant long-term benefit as it relates to health outcomes and cost. Digital health has the opportunity to not only enable access to quality obesity medicine but also to tailor and personalize care to individuals.
  • Supporting healthcare’s unsung heroes: Caregivers are critical yet historically under-recognized and under-supported. Today, innovators are stepping up to develop solutions that center caregivers alongside patients, providing insight into the care of loved ones in a way that is clear and actionable.
  • Innovation opportunities to improve youth mental health: The youth mental health crisis is deepening, and digital solutions are evolving to meet young people where they are—on their phones and in their schools. While investment in the space is increasing, so is fragmentation—and opportunity exists for a better integrated and connected pediatric care experience.
  • The role of digital in the food as medicine movement: Whether you call it food as medicine, food is medicine, or foodcare…the movement is gaining momentum. In fact, the average food as medicine startup is about three years younger than the average digital health startup—but has raised $5M more. As more stakeholders integrate nutrition into healthcare, digital solutions can help bridge access gaps, particularly in marginalized communities.
  • Today’s trends will shape the healthcare of tomorrow: AI is guaranteed to catalyze change in healthcare, especially for resource-constrained health systems. Relative to today, some segments in healthcare are anticipated to consolidate (e.g., AI-focused startups) and others to disaggregate (e.g., health systems, PBMs). Overall, the healthcare industry needs to focus on identifying and scaling what works while abandoning ineffective models to avoid stagnation.

The insights and discussions shared will continue to fuel innovation in healthcare, and we’re excited to see how far we’ve come when we gather for the 14th annual Rock Health Summit next year—mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 30, 2025! For details on attending or sponsoring next year’s summit, please reach out to us at events@rockhealth.org. Stay connected with RockHealth.org and get the latest event updates by joining our mailing list at the bottom of the page here.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our incredible speakers and attendees for contributing your time and expertise! We’d also like to give a special shoutout to our amazing sponsors—The Top 50 in Digital Health Awards and Rock Health Summit wouldn’t have been possible without the support of these dedicated partners: Fenwick, Penner Family Foundation, American Medical Association, California Health Care Foundation, CVS Health Ventures, Peterson Health Technology Institute, Pivotal Ventures, PolicyMap, Tulsa Innovation Labs, Calm, Consulate General of Canada, CareQuest Innovation Partners, Hopelab and Marsh McLennan.