Technology breakthroughs, legislative changes and a shift toward patient-centered treatment are all driving the U.S. healthcare sector's extraordinary evolution.
"The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act will better support veterans, caregivers and survivors by improving access to VA health care and benefits, expanding long-term care programs, strengthening programs for student veterans and military family members and more," Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
While "prescribing" food is far from the norm, the next administration could change that. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been a fierce critic of pharmaceuticals and America's reliance on processed foods. He's called for a policy overhaul to crack down on things like food dyes and other additives while elevating nutritious options.
The introduction of AI and machine learning is transforming the healthcare landscape by offering data-driven, personalized tech solutions that can analyze complex datasets. Doctors can use AI to analyze genetic data, lifestyle choices and wearable metrics to identify health risks early, which enables a shift to proactive, preventive care that could help extend lifespans and improve one's overall quality of life.
Powerful weight-loss drugs are expanding use of U.S. healthcare as patients starting prescriptions are diagnosed with obesity-related conditions or take the drugs to become eligible for other services, health records and discussions with doctors show. An exclusive analysis of hundreds of thousands of electronic patient records by health data firm Truveta found slight, but measurable, increases in first-time diagnoses of sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes within 15 days of an initial prescription for a GLP-1 weight-loss drug between 2020 and 2024. In addition to obesity-related conditions, some patients are being prescribed the drugs to lose weight and become eligible for services, including organ transplants, fertility treatments or knee replacements, according to interviews with seven doctors and five other health experts.