Innovation comes in many forms at Endeavor Health. From staying at the forefront of the latest scientific advancements and breakthrough technologies, to unlocking the power of data to personalize patients’ experiences — we’re thinking bigger, bolder and outside the box to reimagine the future of healthcare.
As we look ahead to 2025, we asked key leaders from the Endeavor Health Innovation team what trends they are watching. Here’s what they said.
Justin Brueck, System Vice President, Innovation and Research
While in previous years we usually saw startups and big tech (Google/Microsoft) as the only ones talking about AI, you are now seeing the incumbent technology leaders (like GE, Phillips, Roche) leaning in. It will be interesting to see how many systems will wait for the ‘trusted’ entrenched players to develop integrated models, versus take the risk with startups (or doing it themselves).
A few areas I am watching include employee health and wellbeing: how can we leverage innovative care models and technology to help our employees better care for themselves and their families?
Also, senior care — while we are likely still 5-7 years out from this reaching a boiling point — it’s clear that we are going to have to develop different care models to manage the aging patient population. How do we keep them healthy, active and not isolated? I think there will be a bigger push to see how communities partner closer with health systems to holistically manage this population.
From an innovation standpoint, I am of course, very interested in the impact of genomics, an area where we are continuing to demonstrate leadership. I also think virtual nursing is going to be a major turning point for our nursing staff, coupled with ambient dictation, in helping bring back more joy to the bedside and clinic.
Nadim Ilbawi, Physician Director, Innovation and Care Models
AI is taking root and will soon be table stakes for at least “back office” work. Clinical decision making is still some time away though the pace of development is exponential — and systems that don’t have governance, resources and commitment to this necessary technology will very quickly fall behind.
I am really interested in the next iteration of ambient documentation services which will include diagnosis-aware notes and order entry. I am
also thinking a lot about how technology creates “space” for us to innovate in the non-tech space. In other words, how do we double down on human connection above and beyond what anybody else is doing?
All systems are having many of the same challenges — payor mix, staff retention and cost of labor, thin margins, increasing patient demands. We have to think really far outside of the box to be differentiating. We need to be able to make mistakes quickly and pivot in order to develop a culture of innovation that will serve our system, communities, patients and clinicians.
Hiral Patel, System Director, Innovation Activation and Enablement
AI is infused everywhere and in everything. The solutions that lag behind and will not be adding this kind of intelligence into their product roadmap will be slow to add new features and lose competitive advantage.
We are also seeing a focus on women’s health and the surprising pace of faster advancement in this space. We hear this topic off and on, but true progress and focus from an industry perspective lacks speed.
My priorities for 2025 are enhancing our digital patient experience and timely discharge — helping patients get home a day or two earlier than what baseline has been in the past so they can complete recovery in the comfort of their own home.
Bonny Dieter, MSN, RN, CMSRN, Innovation Program Manager
AI and virtual care (acute and ambulatory) to provide patients with greater access to services is a key theme.
I am excited about the potential around nurse-led inpatient virtual care using innovation in care delivery to transform practice which leads to improvements in patient satisfaction, shorter length of stay, reduced caregiver burnout and expanding services offered to our patients.
A focus for me in 2025 is evolving our bedside care delivery approach to think beyond the four walls of our facilities and identify how our teams can most effectively and efficiently support our patients through virtual care models.
Kurt Akers, Venture and Innovation Analyst
In general, like everyone else, I am watching the intense focus of AI in healthcare — use cases, leaders and maturity of solutions. Part of my role involves identifying and evaluating opportunities for the long-term that utilize AI from a platform approach that we can apply across our system.
A few other key themes going into the year ahead include documentation tools, GLP1s [medications to treat diabetes and obesity], a larger presence from non-healthcare-dominant companies and continued concerns about the cost of healthcare in the U.S. I am also interested in startups with individual solutions vs. mature startups with more robust platforms vs. mature tech companies with a platform of solutions and offerings.
A goal of mine is to continue to evaluate the landscape and how we can partner with companies that will provide benefit to our system for the long-term. With so many companies and startups focusing intently on AI in healthcare, there is going to be a boom/bust cycle that develops. Finding the right partners is crucial when identifying/evaluating from a viability perspective, and our team is poised to accomplish this goal.
