Forbes 2019 Healthcare Summit

*subject to change

Great news on the medical front: We are on the brink of new breakthroughs in drugs, devices, care and understanding, fueled by advances in research and technology. Yet costs continue to rise so the industry is under pressure to not only save lives but keep people healthy and costs in check.

New milestones are being achieved in gene editing, cancer immunotherapy and AI. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is emerging, and the spread of wearable gadgets lets millions of people monitor their blood pressure and other functions, adding ever more metrics and insights for use in Big Data. Nowadays, deciphering your personal genome is routine. And an integrated approach to treating the whole person has taken on new meaning.

Yet this great news presents myriad challenges. Technological capability is outracing the ability of ethicists to keep up with it, amid reports of the first CRISPR gene-editing in newborns in China. Turning research advances into actual products is far harder than commonly believed. In addition, criticism over high drug prices is on the rise from the Trump Administration and both parties in Congress, threatening the revenue and profit growth that fund new research. The debate over healthcare insurance remains a minefield. And while progress toward ending the silent stigma surrounding mental health issues has been made, mental disorders are still on the rise around the world; nowhere is immune.

Some of the top minds in healthcare will gather to discuss and debate these colliding forces, looking at the whole person. An array of healthcare CEOs, scientists, billionaires and scrappy startups, doctors and patients, and tech titans and venture capitalists will share their insights on disruptive prescriptions for the brain, body and the business of healthcare to drive better care and better value. The promise never has been greater; now is the time to focus on how we deliver on it.