Keynote Speakers Shaping the Future of Healthcare

In a rapidly evolving world, few industries face as much pressure to adapt as healthcare. From technological advancements to shifts in patient expectations, the landscape is constantly changing. As we look ahead to 2025, healthcare professionals and organizations are eager to understand what the future holds. To help you and your team better prepare, we surveyed leading healthcare keynote speakers and thought leaders, exploring their insights on the challenges and innovations shaping tomorrow's healthcare system. From breakthroughs in AI and telemedicine to addressing health equity and patient-centric care, these experts provide a roadmap for navigating the future of healthcare. 

From Digitization to Datafication

An Industry Still Catching Up

Dr. Shawn DuBravac is a global futurist, renowned economist, and best-selling author of Digital Destiny, where he explores how digital technology is transforming industries like healthcare, finance, and the cultures that surround them. As the former chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), DuBravac brings extensive expertise in tech industry trends and economic drivers. He now leads Astra Insights, advising C-level executives on digital transformation and innovation strategies. A sought-after keynote speaker, DuBravac's insights have been featured in major media outlets. In a recent interview with The Schema’s podcast host Nick Stepro, DuBravac explores the immediate future of healthcare.

DuBravac believes of all the industries, healthcare has fallen behind. Because of strict restrictions, highly confidential material, and lots of red tape, the healthcare systems were incredibly slow to move from analog to digitization. Most other industries started experimenting with tech and digitization in the early 2000s, but healthcare only had its big digital jump in the last 4 years because of the COVID pandemic. The distancing and reduction of physical contact made it essential to remove many restrictions the industry had previously been pigeonholed by and we saw a huge increase in telemedicine as not only an option but a preferred method of communication.

Now, the healthcare industry is able to explore more digital options and optimizations and start its era of experimentation. With experimentation comes a higher volume of data on everything from patient experience to day-to-day hospital and clinic functions that will help direct the industry and finetune the future of healthcare. DuBravac foresees the immediate future of this industry as a period of rapid growth after a long stagnation. He thinks now is the time for tech to insert itself in an impactful way and help reshape the landscape based on new and exciting data.

Tech’s Role in Research and Development

The Future Focuses on Lifespan and “Healthspan”

Global futurist Dr. Bruce McCabe studies the intersection of technology and healthcare, and while as DuBravac pointed out, healthcare systems might be late to the tech party, healthcare research and innovations have not.

Dr. Bruce McCabe is a renowned futurist and sought-after international keynote speaker, known for his presentations on the future of healthcare, technology, artificial intelligence, genomics, and energy — focusing on industries where disruptive change is most impactful. His work takes him across the globe, engaging with diverse sectors. With over 30 years of experience exploring emerging technologies, McCabe has led some of the most innovative companies, like IMDB, WordPerfect, Novell, and Gartner. In 2002, he launched S2 Intelligence, a think tank dedicated to fostering innovation through in-depth research.

Based on the technological advancements made in the healthcare industry within the last decade, McCabe envisions an incredibly inspiring future for healthcare, characterized by exponential medical innovation. Now more than ever, he sees artificial intelligence transforming the field, making new medical discoveries, and enabling robots to assist in care. He describes breakthroughs like bio-printed body parts made from a patient's cells and astonishing advances in curing cancer and reversing aging. For McCabe, this golden age of medical innovation offers unparalleled opportunities to extend not just our lifespans but our “healthspans” — the quality of life as we age. With gene-editing technologies on the horizon to eliminate genetic risk factors for diseases like cardiovascular disease, McCabe believes we are on the cusp of transformational changes that could reshape the entire healthcare landscape.

Like DuBravac, McCabe also emphasizes the future of healthcare should include a reimagining of day-to-day operations for practitioners. He underscores the importance of enhancing patient interactions, addressing new patient expectations, and rethinking hospital operations and financing models to keep up with the pace of innovation. The future, he argues, is just as much about improving the lives of healthcare professionals — nurses, paramedics, psychologists, and surgeons — as it is about improving outcomes for patients.

Reframing Healthcare

Creating Disruptive Change within the Industry

With these changing technologies and new potential unlocked, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth believes we need to completely reimagine the industry. Neuwirth is a seasoned healthcare executive with over three decades of experience in clinical practice, operations, population health, and innovation. He recently served as Chief of Care Transformation at Atrium Health, now part of Advocate Health. Neuwirth is also the host of the award-winning podcast Creating a New Healthcare, which has featured nearly 160 episodes and was named "Healthcare Podcast of the Year" by HITMC in 2019.

In 2019, he released his book, Reframing Healthcare, as a guide to transforming healthcare delivery and inspiring change throughout numerous healthcare complexes. His second book, the best-selling Beyond The Walls, highlights key trends and disruptors reshaping American healthcare and tells stories of innovators who are building a more personalized and effective system of care.

Neuwirth envisions the future of healthcare as a transformation driven by three core strategies: digital innovation, human-centered care, and disruptive business models. He argues that the current healthcare system is unsustainable and failing to meet the needs of the public, and incremental changes are insufficient. In his work, Neuwirth emphasizes the power of digital technology and AI to revolutionize healthcare delivery while urging caution around ethical and regulatory issues.

His focus on technology is matched by his advocacy for a shift in healthcare’s business model, pointing out how retail and pharmacy chains, as well as insurers, are transforming the industry with consumer-driven strategies. Neuwirth encourages hospital systems to embrace these disruptions rather than resist them, outlining how they can leverage new partnerships to stay competitive.

In addition to technological and business changes, Neuwirth calls for a profound shift toward humanism in healthcare. He critiques the systemic inequities — such as racism, sexism, and ageism — plaguing the industry and argues that trust in healthcare institutions is declining as a result. He champions a more personalized, compassionate approach, where consumers are empowered to make informed choices about their care. This humanism, according to Neuwirth, is not just an ethical imperative but also a competitive advantage as patients increasingly demand care that aligns with their values. Through his books and presentations, he offers a roadmap for healthcare leaders to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and encourages them to become disruptors rather than remain stagnant in a flawed system.

Misinformation and Disinformation in Healthcare

A Fair Warning for the Future of Healthcare

While the future of healthcare is bright and holds many promises, Dr. Geeta Nayyar has some reservations about our role in progressing the industry.

Dr. Geeta Nayyar, MD, MBA, is a globally recognized chief medical officer, technologist, and bestselling author. A rheumatologist, she earned her MD from the University of Miami and her MBA from The George Washington University. Known for her expertise in blending human-centered innovation with advancements in artificial intelligence, she helps leaders drive better health and business outcomes. Nayyar is the author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-seller Dead Wrong: Diagnosing and Treating Healthcare’s Misinformation Illness and has appeared on major media outlets like CNBC and CNN.

In her book Dead Wrong, Nayyar explores the harmful impact of misinformation and disinformation on healthcare during the pandemic. She discusses how conspiracy theories and unproven remedies undermine trust in medical professionals, harm patients, and strain the healthcare system. In the wake of this new distrust in the system, Nayyar emphasizes that healthcare leaders must take proactive steps to combat misinformation, using technology and AI to spread accurate information and rebuild trust with the public.

In her broader view of healthcare's future, Dr. Nayyar highlights the transformative potential of digital technologies like AI in medicine. From improving diagnostics to revolutionizing patient care systems, she sees these innovations as key to delivering more coherent, effective healthcare. However, she also stresses the importance of regulating these technologies and addressing their downsides, particularly the role of social media in spreading misinformation. Nayyar advocates for a balanced approach that leverages technology for better patient outcomes while safeguarding public trust in medical institutions.

A Vision for Tomorrow

As we look toward the future of healthcare, the insights from these thought leaders paint a picture of an industry on the brink of transformational change. From the rise of digital technologies and AI to the shift toward patient-centric, value-based care, the healthcare landscape of 2025 promises to be one where innovation and humanism go hand in hand. Keynote speakers like Dr. Shawn DuBravac, Dr. Bruce McCabe, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth, and Dr. Geeta Nayyar underscore the importance of embracing technological advancements, rethinking traditional healthcare models, and addressing systemic inequities to build a more resilient and equitable system.

By staying attuned to these evolving dynamics and taking bold steps to adapt, the healthcare industry can not only meet the demands of the future but also drive meaningful, lasting change that improves outcomes for both patients and providers alike. For deeper insights into the future of healthcare, book one of our Healthcare Keynote Speakers for your next event.