Healthcare as we know it is changing. For decades, our hospital-centric model has forced complex, chronic conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, and heart failure into brief, isolated doctor visits. This mismatch is failing the millions of people living with these chronic conditions. But a solution is already taking hold, and its impact will change the very nature of our healthcare system.
A new “personal care” system is emerging. As evidenced by the explosive rise in GLP-1 use, direct-to-consumer healthcare platforms, and wearable technology, this system is one that treats individuals less as “patients” who periodically engage with the healthcare system. Instead, patients are consumers who aspire not to be a part of that system at all. Or, at the very least, demand a complete rethink on what that system is doing for them in their daily lives. This transformation is already underway. Look closely at the rapid adoption of GLP-1s. The market has quadrupled since 2024. The sheer scale and ramp are more akin to a new consumer product adoption market than a traditional pharma product.
To succeed, our healthcare system must fully embrace consumer-focused product design to address demands of scale, access, and daily usability that the market is revealing. This shift from reactive care toward lifelong prevention is an imperative, both because the prevention of the chronic diseases mentioned above benefit, but also because the consumers demand it.
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For consumers suffering from these conditions, the appeal of this shift is straightforward: a consumer-focused healthcare system offers continuous, personalized care designed to keep you healthy, rather than fragmented care that only engages when problems arise. The real challenge, however, is not convincing consumers. It is building the infrastructure to support them. Ultimately, that challenge comes down to a simple market force: price times quantity (PxQ).
When a health solution delivers clear, daily value to 100 million people, the economics of scale become transcendent, leaving traditional, episodic healthcare behind. To see how this model is actively dismantling legacy care, we can look to three distinct players laying the groundwork for a consumer-first future: a wearable data engine (Oura Ring), a digital prescribing highway (Hims & Hers), and a direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical pipeline (Lilly Direct).
Let’s begin with the Oura Ring. The company is evolving its value proposition to meet the growing demand for continuous, personalized care. What began as a sleek lifestyle accessory is transforming into an outcomes-driven health data engine. This is a big, new idea. By combining consumer trends like fitness tracking with real clinical utility and outcomes, Oura is betting consumers will buy the ring not just because it looks good, but because it measurably improves their lives. Oura is certainly not the only company that has recognized the appetite for outcomes-driven wearables. Apple, FitBit, and Garmin, along with others, are capitalizing on this trend as well. This all points to the broader paradigm shift that is underway. Continuous, passive health monitoring is redefining the boundary between consumer technology and clinical care, proving that the future of chronic disease management will be worn on the body, not waited for in a clinic.
The way in which consumers are accessing therapies also reflects this paradigm shift. Take a look at Hims & Hers or Ro, as two examples. In this reimagined health system framework, these companies provide new infrastructure for access and prescribing. Isolated, these companies feel similar to GNC online, which has traditionally focused on fitness supplements. However, GLP-1 engagement has shown that the infrastructure for efficient and scalable prescription management and supply is beneficial for more health and care-related items. The future winners of this modern infrastructure may not be precisely these companies, but the breakthroughs they have made in reaching, maintaining, and growing value for their user base is insightful and represents that “roads and pipes” component of a scalable global personal care system.
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Finally, Lilly Direct illustrates what happens when a pharmaceutical giant links modern distribution to the sheer volume of chronic disease. Driven by unprecedented market demand for GLP-1s that legacy healthcare couldn’t handle, Eli Lilly transformed its go-to-market model, fueling its rise as the world’s first trillion-dollar pharmaceutical company. What began as a telehealth and home-delivery pilot quickly expanded into partnerships with platforms like Amazon, direct cash-pay options, and scaled enterprise models serving over a million direct monthly users. More importantly, by bypassing traditional pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to build a parallel supply chain, Lilly completely disrupted the pharmaceutical “last mile”. In doing so, they redefined the first mile of patient access, proving that when you remove middleman friction, life-changing care can scale at consumer speed.
The sheer growth of Oura, Hims & Hers, and Lilly Direct make it clear that a new, consumer-driven healthcare model is emerging. Still, we are in the early stages of this transition. The pipeline that is coming beyond these initial products represents further opportunity for differentiation, and with it, competitive market dynamics driven by consumer sentiment. In the end, this will give patients more decision-making power than they have ever seen when it comes to their healthcare. Physicians’ role will evolve and the businesses they operate with and for will change.
The winners in this new era are those who understand and adapt to the preferences of the new health consumer. After 20 years of escalating costs and little positive change, consumers of the future healthcare system will expect different experiences. They will demand different outcomes. They will need different solutions, different delivery, and different physician archetypes. And, this will be disruptive, as any dramatic shift involving a $6 trillion industry will be. As innovators shape a future system driven by consumer sentiment and demand, we can use that force to create a system that cares for people through a modern, preventative personal care system. When healthcare finally meets consumer demand, we won’t just treat sickness better – we will stay healthier by design.
Photo: Andriy Onufriyenko, Getty Images
Jack Stockert, MD, is a Managing Director at Health2047. He is passionate about driving system-level change through collaboration and innovation to improve the way people live and the way physicians practice in the healthcare system. Jack’s experience as a physician, combined with his strong analytic capabilities and a healthcare system view that was refined at McKinsey & Company, delivers a broad skillset and contextual depth of understanding of the challenges and opportunities in healthcare. Jack also has entrepreneurial experience building a venture-backed company, HealthEngine, global health exposure working at the WHO, and financial and investment experience at Morgan Stanley. He received his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He earned his AB, with honors, from the University of Chicago.
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