Healthcare thought leadership has become fundamental amid a rapidly evolving landscape characterised by digital transformation, increased patient expectations, and the rise of AI.
When healthcare professionals shy away from thought leadership, innovation stalls, inefficiencies rise, and patient care suffers.
However, with so many executives short on time, it’s often tough to know what topics to focus on and how to approach them.
This article aims to ease that problem by exploring 9 trends you should watch this year and beyond.
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare waiting times in the UK have surged, leading to both frustration and increased risk among the most vulnerable patients.
Though the government and campaigners have attempted to improve the situation, patient satisfaction has declined, with just 1 in 5 people in 2024 saying they are satisfied with the way the NHS runs.
As a result, research shows that 1 in 3 UK respondents are now willing to go private and pay for treatment in the next 12 months if they need it.
Insurance providers and private clinics are already marketing themselves more to meet demand.
Meanwhile digital health platforms are making it easier for patients to access faster consultations and specialist care.
Yet, with so many patients accessing private care for the first time, many are likely to have misconceptions about cost, quality, and continuity of care.
As such, this shift not only presents an opportunity but a huge responsibility to guide the transition, build trust and credibility, and foster innovation.
The more transparent you are about the onboarding and treatment process, the better.
With fewer patients satisfied with public healthcare in the UK, the NHS is in the midst of a crisis.
Waiting times are part of the problem. But much more considerably, so are shifting power dynamics and the rise of misinformation.
And this issue isn't exclusive to the UK. It's global.
While it's good that patients are more health conscious today, thanks to the endless online materials, podcasts, and documentaries they have at their disposal, it's got to a point where an overconsumption of content, true and untrue, is doing more harm than good.
Years ago, patients would be told of their treatment plan, and they wouldn’t question it. Fast forward to today and there couldn’t be a greater contrast.
It's not uncommon for patients to overburden healthcare providers with emails, phone calls, and scepticism, potentially halting or prolonging their treatment, or inadvertently, the treatment of others.
The only way to recapture trust is to increase your engagement with patients, not only through corporate communications but healthcare thought leadership.
Without becoming more visible, you allow others to always control the narrative in the media and on social media, endlessly denting trust.
Specifically, you need to adopt more insight-led articles, case studies, and social media posting, as well as new formats like video content, which 54% of consumers now prefer to see from brands over any other format.
In terms of speaking points, spend more time demonstrating your expertise, whether breaking down high-risk viruses or explaining operation procedures, to earn credibility and instil confidence.
You also need to celebrate the achievements of your team to highlight the good work healthcare providers carry out daily, which often goes amiss.
With healthcare providers under so much pressure, many professionals are departing the sector while fresh talent opts for other, less intensive, career paths.
Because of this, the global healthcare system is expected to face a shortage of 4.5 million nurses by 2030.
If this happens, patient care will nosedive and the sector will plummet into a reputational nightmare.
To prevent this, you need to do everything in your power to champion healthcare as a viable and rewarding career path.
Some leaders have already started doing this by highlighting exciting advancements and opportunities for innovation in areas like precision medicine, digital health, and personalised healthcare.
Others are using healthcare thought leadership as a tool to influence and shape healthcare policy. This might mean more tuition fee subsidiaries for graduates or better wage bands for professionals.
Whether you operate within the public or private sector, becoming more vocal could make the difference in retaining employees and securing high-value talent to elevate your firm.
Amid the risks healthcare faces, cyber-attacks have to be one of the most prominent. In North America alone, the sector faced around 1,607 weekly attacks last year.
When these attacks take place, patient data is stolen and sold on the black market, people face scams and identity theft, while operations are crippled with ransomware, forcing institutions to make large payouts.
Because many institutions rely on outdated infrastructure, healthcare is one of the most vulnerable sectors despite its importance.
If these institutions don’t improve their systems, patient jeopardy could skyrocket in the coming years as cyber criminals become even more sophisticated.
With this in mind, it's time you work collectively with cybersecurity professionals to highlight vulnerable systems and advocate for best industry practices.
Cybersecurity experts, in turn, have a huge opportunity to carve out a niche in healthcare and stand apart from their competitors.
While discussing the threat of cyber-attacks, it might seem as if we were suggesting the healthcare sector is technologically inept.
However, this couldn’t be further from true.
Brand-new healthcare technologies hit the market year-in-year, from robotic-controlled operating tools to far more efficient cloud-enabled monitors.
Seems promising, right?
The truth is a huge proportion of health-tech companies are currently struggling to scale.
There are many reasons for this.
Founders often prioritise research over commercialisation, hindering long-term profitability.
Many investors are committing to other trends like AI.
Regulatory hurdles have forced companies to remove a large proportion of their products from the market.
Many health-tech firms struggle to achieve big ticket partnerships.
With all these issues collaboratively working against the sector, you need to do more to present your innovations well, show your are market-savvy, and most importantly, be likable enough to build relationships with regulators, investors, and potential partners.
Unless you do become more visible, the ground-breaking revolutions you're working on won't see the light of day.
At this point, AI has permeated nearly every sector. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that AI-driven businesses are leading the way in healthcare.
Tempus, known for its expertise in AI-driven oncology, is now valued at over $12bn, largely thanks to its CEO Eric Lefkofsky's visible leadership.
That said, Tempus' success is also a double-edged sword.
While lives might be saved thanks to Tempus' work, other promising AI firms will struggle to break through as a host of others race to discover life-changing medicines.
In our view, only the most transparent leaders will be successful.
After all, AI distrust and dwindling healthcare confidence are bound to create the perfect storm that limits the commercialisation and uptake of many medicines.
The best way to ease concerns is through full transparency throughout clinical trials, via case studies and multimedia content, and regular media engagement that controls the narrative.
This all about communicating a clear desire to genuinely save lives, so that regulators, patients, and investors know safety is the utmost priority for your business.
With healthcare providers under immense pressure and diagnoses for various illnesses rising, the focus has shifted dramatically in recent years from swift treatment to risk prevention.
This is why organisations now advertise about cancer and heart conditions much more than they did in the past across social media, billboards, radio, and TV.
But while these efforts do make a difference, a human touch is what drives real influence.
It might be time that you did more across various channels to encourage regular check-ups, screenings, and preventive services if you haven't already.
With 90% of consumers stating diet is important and 86% believing fitness is important, in contributing to their overall health, there’s a real demand for this content.
Professional's secure interviews on broadcast to discuss these issues all the time because they are such high interest. So, don't miss out on the opportunity.
In the US, 90% of the public think there is a mental health crisis today, with half of young adults and one-third of all adults reporting that they have felt anxious either always or often in the past year.
If you read any publication or social feed, there's a good chance you'll come across mental health content produced by a healthcare thought leader.
But perhaps, what's more crucial, is that you see this as an opportunity to check in on fellow colleagues who may be silently suffering.
The healthcare sector is already losing record numbers of workers because of day-to-day stress. So, it makes sense to become more present and vocal on the topic.
Other than promoting workplace initiatives and work-life balance across external channels, spend more time engaging frequently with staff via internal channels.
At the end of the day, generating real trust in your brand starts from within.
We all know about the climate crisis and the risks it poses. But sometimes, what’s overlooked is the threats our healthcare systems face.
In the years ahead, extreme heat and natural disasters will lead to changes in disease patterns, far more respiratory issues, and various disruptions to healthcare infrastructure and supply chains.
Worse still, the sector is nowhere near ready with many global institutions already at breaking point.
On one hand, you need to raise awareness of any impending challenges to improve preparation and readiness.
And on the other, there needs to be more discussion about how healthcare institutions are making the sector more environmentally friendly, too.
Most people don’t know this but the healthcare sector is responsible for around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, driven by energy consumption, equipment transportation, and the sheer amount of waste medical centres produce annually.
Even with the various responsibilities you may be juggling, showing that you're in tune with this helps improve stakeholder relationships more than you realise and protects your firm from backlash from pressure groups.
Just make sure you follow up any statements with action.