2024 Reflections and Aspirations: RockHealth.org’s Annual Letter
Friends of RockHealth.org,
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on a year where we continued to advance healthcare through innovation and technology. We challenged ourselves and the ecosystem to think bigger. Along the way, we uncovered opportunities to drive meaningful impact across healthcare’s most pressing challenges while illuminating promising solutions and bold leaders.
Our work
A major highlight this year was the publication of A lens on health equity in digital health: Unlocking the innovation opportunity, supported by The SCAN Foundation and Tulsa Innovation Labs. This report outlined opportunity areas to accelerate the impact and growth of equity-centered solutions at the intersection of health and technology. We highlighted communities that are in a position to benefit from digital health innovations in the near term, including older adults, rural populations, and Black and Latine digital health consumers. These insights also shaped discussions during our Rock Health Summit Virtual Series.
In 2024, we ushered in the fourth cohort of our RockHealth.org Innovation Fellows—a powerful group of eleven leaders passionate about transforming healthcare through lived experience. Through field exposure, peer collaboration, and access to the Rock Health community, the Innovation Fellowship is fostering the next generation of innovators tackling urgent challenges in women’s health, youth mental health, food as medicine, and more.
Our Digital Youth Mental Health Initiative, supported by the Penner Family Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, Hopelab, and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, resulted in the report Investing in the future: Opportunities to support digital innovations in youth mental health. It highlighted investment opportunities grounded in the lived experiences of underserved youth and made the case for meaningful interventions. The report’s findings have garnered attention and enabled us to connect with other ecosystem players in the youth mental health space to drive more investment in youth mental health.
In partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), we launched the Advancing AI and Digital Health for Primary Care Initiative. This effort aims to equip family physicians with the knowledge to integrate AI and digital health into their practices and with growing mechanisms to better inform innovation upstream in the development process. We are incredibly grateful to the members of the Primary Care Leadership Committee who are lending their expertise to this work.
Underpinning all of this are our signature convenings that strengthen our community, elevate innovators driving the field forward, and amplify important narratives around essential healthcare needs. In March, the Digital Health CEO Summit at the New York Stock Exchange brought together over 120 digital health leaders to exchange insights on scaling businesses, tapping into diverse funding sources, and harnessing storytelling as a tool for growth. We celebrated industry pioneers and amplified their work through the Top 50 in Digital Health awards. Likewise, the 13th annual Rock Health Summit elevated conversations on the future of healthcare, including mental health, caregiving, and food as medicine.
Strategic vision for the future
As we reflect on the past few years and look ahead to 2025, we believe digital innovation has the power to help solve healthcare’s most complex challenges and improve the well-being of everyone. We also recognize there exists an even greater opportunity to accelerate equitable solutions by collaborating with trusted partners to focus specifically on advancing youth mental health, primary care, and women’s health over the next several years.
As part of this strategic evolution, we also welcomed a new board member Pam Kostka whose leadership together with the rest of our esteemed board will help steer our next chapter.
Gratitude and invitation
None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our partners, donors, and sponsors. We are deeply grateful for your belief in the power of digital health to transform healthcare for all humanity.
As we move into the new year, we invite you to continue on this journey with us. Whether by nominating visionaries for our 2025 Top 50 in Digital Health, sponsoring one of our events, or funding our work in youth mental health health, primary care, and women’s health; your involvement propels our shared mission.
In the meantime, please save the date to join us at the next Rock Health Summit on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, in San Francisco, as we create an even greater impact together.
Thank you for your dedication and collaboration. Wishing you a restorative close to 2024, and looking forward to all we’ll achieve together in the coming year.
Warmest regards,
Katie Drasser
CEO, RockHealth.org