The healthcare disruptors of 2026: A watchlist for communicators and marketers
- Alan Shoebridge
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
About a decade ago, the term “healthcare disruption” started showing up everywhere. It was talked about constantly. It got to the point where I became cynical whenever someone mentioned the term.
Why? Well, for one thing disruption is NOT always good. Sometimes it is, but often it generates more hype and media attention than actual transformation. There sure seemed to be a lot of the former and little of the latter as so many companies and leaders weighed in to say they were planning on disrupting healthcare.
“Healthcare is broken and WE know how to fix it” was the general refrain from many tech, retail and pharmacy CEOs. I won’t name names, but most had little or no experience in healthcare.
It all got a bit exhausting to be honest.
A few years ago, I began to change my mind and took a more expansive view of healthcare disruption.
As part of that new mindset, I began informally listing who and what I believed were capable of disruption, whether positive or negative. And I solicited suggestions from other knowledgeable people who track trends more closely than I do.
Disruption matters not just because it changes care delivery, but because it changes expectations. It influences how patients search for care, how consumers evaluate trust, and how health systems position themselves to meet evolving needs.
I’ve shared my healthcare disruptors list annually for the past few years. It’s that time again. Check it out below!
If you want more context, watch the video at the end. Colin Hung and I discuss a few of the disruptors that made the list, those that dropped off, and a few that could emerge in the near future.
The 2026 list of healthcare disruptors
I’ve grouped this year’s watchlist into four buckets: new to the list, still on it, off it, and one new category, the waiting room.
This list is not a ranking. It’s a watchlist of people, organizations and trends that could impact healthcare in 2026 and beyond. There’s no formal methodology here; it’s just my own observations and input from others I trust.
👇𝐍𝐄𝐖 to the list
- AARP
- AI medical scribes
- Baby Boomers (aka “Silver Tsunami”)
- Direct to consumer primary care
- Home medical testing
- Maven Clinic (virtual clinic specializing in women’s health)
- Vaccine hesitancy
👇𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 on the list
- AI LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, etc.)
- Amazon
- Anthem
- Epic
- General Catalyst
- Genomics
- Kaiser
- Mark Cuban (Cost Plus Drugs)
- Microsoft
- Ozempic (GLP-1 weight loss drugs)
- Risant Health
- Rising costs
- SEIU (+all healthcare unions)
- Staffing shortages
- Trump administration
- Virtual care
- Wearables
👇𝐎𝐅𝐅 the list
- Bezos (focused on space)
- COVID
- Congress
- CVS (recalibrating business model)
👇𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌
- Apple
- Best Buy Health
- Hinge Health (personalized virtual physical therapy program)
- Open Evidence (AI copilot and medical information platform for healthcare professionals)
- Optum/United Healthcare
- Oracle
- Salesforce
Note: This last one is a new category for things and people that might be interesting and impactful in 2026. Or not. Time will tell. Some companies here have been ones that I thought would disrupt healthcare, but haven’t done much (yet).
A bit of analysis
Most of the entries above don’t require much commentary, but here are a few special notations I wanted to make.
AI medical scribes point to a broader shift in how AI may improve clinician experience while also shaping expectations about efficiency and responsiveness.
GLP-1s are no longer just a pharmaceutical trend; they are influencing consumer expectations, service-line messaging and conversations about prevention and chronic disease.
Vaccine hesitancy remains a communications challenge as much as a public health one, affecting trust, credibility and message/brand strategy.
Direct to consumer primary care is getting a lot of buzz. It’s interesting, but the path to widespread adoption and profitability is murky.
Why disruption matters
For healthcare communicators and marketers, the takeaway is not to chase every shiny object or obsess over competitors. It’s to understand which forces are changing expectations, trust, access, affordability and the patient experience. By doing that, we can align messaging, content and strategy with changing expectations.
And before you go, here are a few things you might want to think about:
Which of these disruptors is most likely to reshape patient expectations in your market?
Which ones create the biggest reputational risk or opportunity for health systems?
Where do your current messages lag behind what consumers now expect?
Which disruptors are your leaders talking about, and which are they underestimating?
Is your organization a disruptor? Why or why not?