Ahad W.

Improving health outcomes will require new ways of thinking about how data, technology, and care delivery come together. In Intelligent Health, my friend Nasim Afsar, MD MBA MHM explores how these forces can align to create a more proactive and person-centered system. I’d recommend this read to anyone shaping the future of healthcare: https://lnkd.in/gSTRrZGR

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The health care ecosystem's vastness as a $5 trillion dollar industry would seem to contain everything recognizable as healthcare. In reality it does not. For healthcare entities observable data drives operations, analysis and prediction. However each entity existing in the real world has a degree of uncertainty and ambiguity arising from unobservable data that is necessarily left out of analysis and prediction. Bringing unobservable data into the fold to make predictions better by this inclusion comes from the revolution in causality allowing counterfactuals a status comparable to observables. This blog describes a new, deeper view of reality, at least in the analytic world,

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When I founded Digital Health New York along with Kevin Ryan Brenton Fargnoli, M.D. and AlleyCorp, we had a clear and ambitious goal: to help establish New York as the center of digital health innovation.   At the time, that vision felt bold. The ecosystem was emerging, the community was small, and the future was still taking shape. Today, New York is recognized as a global hub for digital health companies, investors, health systems, and innovators. Watching this community grow and collaborate has been one of the great privileges of my career.    DHNY has played a meaningful role in building and connecting this ecosystem. That impact belongs to all of you. The founders, investors, health system leaders, partners, and friends who showed up, supported one another, and believed in what New York could become.    As DHNY enters its next phase, the organization is evolving alongside the market we helped create. I am pleased to share that Amanda Kanaga will step into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Amanda brings strong operational leadership, deep healthcare expertise, and the ability to scale mission-driven organizations. I could not be more excited because Amanda is the right leader to guide DHNY through its next chapter of growth and opportunity.    I will transition into the role of Chairman of the Board. I remain deeply committed to DHNY’s mission and to this extraordinary community. I will continue to help shape our strategic vision, stewarding relationships, and supporting the organization’s long-term success. I am especially excited to see DHNY Summit continue to grow as the leading event for our community and a catalyst for the next phase of innovation and connection.    This transition strengthens our foundation while sharpening our execution. Our mission remains unchanged. Our commitment to advancing New York’s digital health ecosystem remains strong. Our ambition for the future is even greater.    Thank you to everyone who has been integral to the journey particularly Anand Gan Jennifer Newman Jane Suh and Alexi Nazem. In addition, we could not have come this far without the support of our members, speakers and sponsors. I am incredibly proud of what we have built together. And stay tuned: I will be sharing more about my next chapter soon.

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In our latest newsletter, I go deep into why we believe the next three years of healthcare innovation will be defined by two specific trends: Voice Agents and Hybrid AI Care Models. Here is the quick breakdown: 🎤 Amplifier Health (Voice AI Diagnostics): Amit Mehta, Jeremy Barber, and Peh Keong are doing the impossible. They have built a Large Acoustic Model that can screen for multiple medical conditions from a phone call. By focusing on the physical properties of sound rather than just words, they are creating a screening and diagnostic tool that is accessible to anyone with a phone. 🧠 Meru Health (Hybrid AI-Enhanced Care): Kristian Ranta, Riku Lindholm, and Henri Koponen are solving the "efficacy crisis" in mental health. Their 12-week program treats the mind and body together by combining licensed clinicians with biofeedback technology. With millions of lives covered, they are proving that value-based care is the only way forward. The Bigger Picture: We believe the "Golden Age" of healthtech is moving toward a model where AI handled the routine data and diagnostics while humans focus on high-level clinical decisions. Whether it is a voice agent triaging a patient or an AI-enhanced clinician monitoring recovery, this hybrid approach is how we solve for both access and quality. Read the full breakdown of our investment thesis #HealthTech #VentureCapital #AI https://lnkd.in/dqDGBnJF

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All of us who work in the healthcare AI space should read and champion this common sense approach to AI classification and regulation from 8VC Its long, but well worth the read. It’s the only framework I’ve seen to date that makes sense regarding how we can regulate GenAI. I’m interested in your thoughts: Dr Terence Tan Graham Walker, MD Yair Saperstein, MD MPH Paulo J Machado Javier Viñals Nate Ward Sarah Giolando-Matlin Julie Nagy MSN, RN Query Health https://lnkd.in/gFuanCia

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There's a new question in every health tech buying cycle that didn't exist 18 months ago: "Is this already on the roadmap of our foundation model vendor?" As we discussed in our 2026 healthcare predictions, we are entering a moment where the end user, clinicians and operators included, can increasingly build software themselves using agentic coding environments. In practice, this shows up when a CIO asks whether a proposed point solution is meaningfully different from what their existing foundation model could deliver with internal prompts, guardrails, and a few weeks of engineering time. This shift is quietly reshaping the competitive calculus. Startups selling into healthcare enterprises no longer compete only with the EHR vendor’s roadmap. They also compete with what a foundation model provider can plausibly ship for that customer, often faster and at lower marginal cost. Importantly, while the moat around building software is eroding, the moat around running software in healthcare is not. Healthcare enterprises are not set up to independently handle deep workflow integration, continuous iteration, reliability at scale, and governance across clinical, legal, and regulatory dimensions. That operational gap is where durable companies are still built. We expect this dynamic to introduce real friction into buying cycles for point solutions with thin moats. At the same time, it expands opportunity for companies with defensible data assets, deep workflow entrenchment, and true platform potential. Artera and Atropos Health are two strong examples from Breyer Capital's portfolio, both highlighted in the article. Special thanks to Brian Gormley for featuring our perspective in today's The Wall Street Journal piece on OpenAI and Anthropic's entry into healthcare. Jim Breyer Daniel Breyer Andre Esteva, PhD Brigham Hyde

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Thank you, Mary Ann Azevedo, for including Honey Health in your great rollup of Healthcare AI trends and funding on Crunchbase. "It’s clear that the overall AI investment boom has funneled more capital into healthcare as one of the sectors where AI can have a large, measurable impact. Funding is climbing because the technology is better, the need in healthcare is urgent, more providers are starting to adopt AI solutions, and investors are now seeing clearer paths to scale and profit." https://lnkd.in/gj3wHvd7

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US healthcare financing reveals just how complex the flow of dollars truly is. This Sankey diagram by Andrew Tsang tells a story of significant fragmentation: multiple payers: public, private, and out-of-pocket: each impacting provider reimbursement and, ultimately, patient experience. A few takeaways: • Public programs like Medicare and Medicaid remain dominant, yet private insurance and household spending are substantial drivers. • Administrative layers continue to shape the flow, with notable portions allocated to insurance operations and government programs before reaching care delivery. • Out-of-pocket costs remain persistent, highlighting access and affordability challenges despite robust overall spending. For independent physicians, maneuvering these channels is especially demanding. Visibility into exactly where your revenue comes from: and what’s lost to administrative drag: is critical. Smart navigation is often the line between thriving and just surviving as an independent in today’s US healthcare ecosystem. Understanding these flows isn’t just academic. It’s essential for providers and health leaders focused on efficiency, cash flow, and sustainable care delivery. As financial pressures mount, insight into these pathways is a key strategic advantage. #healthcare #RCM #healthcarefinance

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7 predictions for the next 3 years of Health Tech. 👇 I wrote a piece for Elets eHealth outlining where I see the industry heading. The headline: We are moving from "Cool Tech" to "Clinical Reality." The 7 Shifts: 1. Specialised AI > Generalist AI for healthcare. 2. Data Assets will drive valuations. 3. Outcome-based opex models will replace heavy Capex. 4. Agentic AI will become your digital co-worker. 5. AI Governance will become a boardroom priority. 6. Hybrid Care will mature into sophisticated remote monitoring. 7. India will emerge as the global innovation lab for health tech. When I talk to any of our leaders at 5C Network or at leading clinical AI businesses like Cloudphysician, Tricog Health, they all say the same thing: Deep domain expertise + operational discipline is the winning formula for 2026. Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/gqvESi5Y

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