From Hype to Healing: Reflections on How AI Is Transforming Care at HLTH 2025

The fall conference circuit is in full swing, and I finally had a moment to reflect on my time at #HLTH2025. If you shut your eyes, you might have thought you were at an AI conference, as every stage, every booth, and every conversation seemed to circle back to how AI is changing the very nature of care. It was amazing to see the real-world ways this technology is improving precision, outcomes, and the human experience of medicine. I came home with some good swag and, more importantly, a to-do list of tests I want to take to improve the way I’m caring for my body and mind.

What struck me most this year wasn’t just innovation, but the maturity. AI isn’t a pilot anymore – it’s becoming part of the fabric that makes up clinical care. From ambient documentation tools to predictive analytics and digital scribes, the focus has shifted from “Can we?” to “How well are we doing it?”

AI Has Moved from Pilot to Practice

On the main stage, health systems and technology leaders spoke less about experimentation and more about workflow. Houston Methodist, for instance, showcased how an AI-enabled command center now coordinates care in real time, a concept that would’ve sounded futuristic just a few years ago. Across the board, the conversation was about scale, integration, and governance – all hallmarks of an industry maturing fast but in desperate need of some consistency and guardrails.

Teladoc Health summed up that momentum perfectly during its “Transform Care and Discovery with Agentic AI” session. Their leaders spoke about turning AI-enabled virtual care from pilot to platform, helping clinicians not just connect with patients but anticipate needs and tailor interventions. It’s a vivid reminder that AI is expanding what “care” means beyond walls, beyond visits, into continuous partnership.

Population Health Meets Healthcare-Grade AI

At Lumeris’ session, “Reimagine Population Health with Agentic AI,” the message was equally clear: AI’s next frontier is closing access gaps. As Lumeris leaders put it, healthcare-grade AI – grounded in clinical quality and ethical standards – can identify risk, personalize outreach, and move value-based care closer to its promise.

That idea resonates deeply for communicators. “Healthcare-grade” isn’t just a technical phrase; it’s a brand position. It says: we’re doing this responsibly, at scale, and for everyone. With big tech companies making significant investments in healthcare in recent years, this differentiation could mean the difference between success and failure.  

AI That Clinicians Can Trust

Wolters Kluwer Health’s CEO, Greg Samios, articulated what may become the guiding principle for AI in clinical decision-support:

“Our customers have made it clear that GenAI at the point of care must be grounded in clinical credibility and expert guidance — not just fast answers.”

That single line captures the tension and the opportunity at the heart of AI in healthcare. It’s not about speed for speed’s sake. It’s about trust, transparency, and making the clinician’s experience better. Sheila Bond, the company’s director of clinical content strategy, reinforced that theme by describing how AI is being used to unlock and organize decades of evidence-based medical content, making it easier for clinicians to access insights in real time.

For communicators, this is gold. It shows that the most powerful AI stories aren’t about algorithms; they’re about reliability, relevance, and empathy.

Building Trust, One Conversation at a Time

No company embodied that better than Abridge. As COO Julia Chou said from the stage:

“What’s so powerful about this moment in AI and technology overall is that everybody feels like they have agency and a vision for what things can be.”

Her colleague, Reba Schenk, added:

“We have built trust with our partners… that trust starts with humbly listening to really understand what the needs are when you’re building a product.”

Those two ideas — agency and listening — may be the most human expressions of AI I’ve heard yet. They remind us that progress in healthcare still depends on connection, not just computation.

What This Means for Communicators

For those of us shaping the stories behind this transformation, a few takeaways are clear:

• Trust and transparency will be the new differentiators. It’s no longer enough to say “AI-powered.” The conversation must move to “AI that clinicians and patients trust.”

• Human outcomes drive credibility. Whether it’s a faster diagnosis, a reduced burden on clinicians, or a more equitable distribution of care, results must come first.

• Partnerships matter. From Teladoc’s virtual ecosystems to Lumeris’ population-health intelligence to Abridge’s collaborations with clinical decision support leaders like UpToDate, the future of AI in care is collaborative and our storytelling should be too.

HLTH 2025 made it clear that AI is no longer the story; it’s the setting for every other story in healthcare, from prevention to precision medicine to patient experience. And, if AI is redefining care, communications must redefine trust. That, for me, is the most exciting work ahead.

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