Center for Health Solutions

Jay Bhatt, D.O., managing director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Deloitte Services LP

Looking back at some of the in-depth research we published in 2025, there is a clear theme: Forward-thinking life sciences and health care (LSHC) organizations—as well as innovators from outside of the sector—appear to be focused on meeting the expectations of a newly empowered health care consumer (see The consumer mandate: a prescription for the future). The organizations gaining the most traction appear to be those that are redesigning experiences around convenience. They are reducing points of friction and making it easier for people to follow through on the care that keeps them healthy. This strategy could help LSHC organizations strengthen their trust among customers. Deloitte’s analysis of HundredX^™ data suggests that organizations with a high level of trust have 2.5 times greater customer loyalty, underscoring the importance of earning, building, and sustaining trustⁱ. Along with working to strengthen trust, many LSHC executives are trying to adjust to new and evolving trade and pricing norms and regulatory changes.

Here’s a look back at some of the important research the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions published in 2025, and what LSHC organizations could expect this year:

Tariffs, regulations, and pricing policies: For much of 2025, US policy makers pursued a wide array of levers—including global trade agreements, executive orders, and regulatory changes—to reduce prescription drug costs, boost domestic manufacturing, and strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain (see LSHC execs are reacting to tariffs, policy shifts…but is it enough?). While potential future tariffs may apply to many finished pharmaceutical products, they can also impact the chemicals used to make the drugs and the devices used to administer them, such as syringes (see Tariffs, pricing, and regs: Navigating exponential complexity). However, the administration has committed to exempting generic pharmaceuticals from potential tariffs. According to Deloitte’s 2026 Life Sciences Outlook and US Health Care Outlook, a majority of executives expect policy shifts to materially affect their businesses. More than half of respondents said they are actively evaluating the potential implications of taxes, tariffs, and drug-pricing regulations. However, far fewer have embedded these considerations into enterprise-wide operating models, leaving many organizations reactive rather than resilient.

What to watch in 2026: As 2025 was coming to a close, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) disclosed two international drug-pricing modelsⁱⁱ that could have implications for pharmaceutical manufacturers around the world. The Guarding US Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs (GUARD) and the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) programs would link Medicare rebates and patient out-of-pocket costs to international reference pricing, with implementation beginning as early as October 2026 and extending through 2031. According to Deloitte’s 2026 Outlook Surveys, more than half of surveyed LSHC executives are proactively assessing the impact of drug-pricing reforms. However, only about one in five said they are forming cross-functional teams to address them. In 2026, organizations that treat their response to policy changes as a core strategy could gain a competitive advantage.

Preventive care and early disease detection: Five years ago, Deloitte introduced its vision for The Future of Health, focusing on a transformation from a reactive “sick-care” model to a proactive “well-care” approach. To help achieve this, whole-health thinking should be prioritized, deliberate, and sustained over time (see A 'whole health' approach to health care transformation). LSHC organizations also should look for opportunities to help their customers live healthier lives. A majority of Americans understand the connection between healthy foods and their well-being. However, they might face obstacles like high food costs, limited access to healthy options, and uncertainty about which foods are best for their health. Deloitte research suggests that collaboration among the health care, retail, and technology sectors could help make healthy foods more accessible, affordable, and easier to navigate (see Consumers want to eat their way to better health). Strategic investments in disease prevention, early detection, and other proactive approaches could save the United States as much as $2.2 trillion a year by 2040, according to Deloitte estimates (see Safeguarding Medicare).

What to watch in 2026: According to Deloitte’s 2026 Global Health Care Outlook, nearly 40% of non-US health system executives plan to prioritize prevention and early detection this year. By contrast, only 7% of US health system executives said preventive care would be a major focus. The data suggests prevention may not be failing because it lacks ROI—it could be failing because today’s payment and operating models tend to reward late intervention. In 2026, leaders could expect increased scrutiny of whether operating models—not consumer behavior—are the true constraint.

Empowered consumers: Armed with highly detailed information about their own health, consumers are becoming the CEOs of their own health and are asserting greater control over the type of care they receive and where they receive it. Our Future of health care financing report explores innovative financing models that can help offset cost increases. Just as many consumers have come to expect their smartphones, wearables, and smart home technologies to connect seamlessly, there could be a similar expectation for connectivity in medical devices. Health care providers seem to be recognizing the benefits of connected care—medical devices that integrate efficiently with provider platforms. According to a Deloitte survey, 84% of health care executives see significant clinical value in connected care, and 74% appreciate its operational benefits. Despite this, there remains a gap between the challenges providers face and the issues medtech executives consider to be most pressing. This misalignment could potentially hinder the expansion of the global connected care market, which is forecasted to reach $190 billion by 2032.ⁱⁱⁱ

What to watch in 2026: The traditional health care system, which is grounded in episodic and reactive care, might not be sustainable. While consumers are taking more control over their health care decisions, fewer than one-third of health care organizations are using AI at scale to support those customers. That could start to change this year. Some organizations are turning to generative and agentic AI to build trust and loyalty by helping patients stay on track with prescribed treatments, potentially signaling a new era of tech-enabled consumer support (see Agentic AI could transform treatment of chronic conditions). This year, more than half of surveyed health plan executives said they intend to invest in initiatives that expand the use of digital tools for member engagement and behavior change. Similarly, 50% of health system executives intend to investment in tech-enabled patient engagement and monitoring tools^iv.

Artificial intelligence and digital technology: The use of AI in health care is still in its early stages, but some life sciences companies have moved beyond pilot projects and are scaling use cases. Among medtech companies, for example, generative AI could translate to cost efficiencies of between 6% and 12% of total revenue over the next two to three years, according to Deloitte estimates (see AI readiness in medtech). Some biopharmaceutical companies are combining AI with robotics and cloud computing to accelerate time-to-market while reducing errors and deviations and improving compliance and testing timelines (see Pharma's QC lab of the future and The future of pharma's commercial model). On the health care side, some early adopters have demonstrated improvements, such as reductions in diagnostic errors, optimized treatment paths, and streamlined operations (see Health systems look to scale AI beyond the pilot phase). However, only about one-third of surveyed health care executives said their organizations are leveraging AI at scale. Moreover, fewer than half of them said they regularly assess the technology’s impact on the consumer experience, workforce productivity, or brand reputation. This disconnect between what is measured today and the full spectrum of technology’s value is what we call the “tech value gap” (see Considerations for health systems to help bridge the tech value gap).

What to watch in 2026: This could be the year that a majority of LSHC organizations move beyond piloting AI and begin system-wide integration. Achieving AI maturity remains aspirational for most organizations, but that appears to be changing. Nearly half of surveyed life sciences executives identified accelerated digital transformation as a trend that is likely to have a substantial impact on their organizations in 2026—a statistically significant increase compared with 2025. Biopharma and medtech leaders generally anticipate that AI will help boost organizational efficiency this year, and most expect it will play a central role in driving major change.

Deloitte research slated for early 2026 will explore how agentic AI could transform chronic-disease management, how life sciences organizations are redesigning the “lab of the future,” and how health systems can close the growing gap between technology investment and realized value. The organizations that are best positioned to succeed will likely be those that move decisively—aligning regulatory and policy readiness, consumer expectations, and intelligent systems into a coherent operating model. Shifting consumer expectations, evolving regulations and policy shifts, and AI-driven transformation will likely define 2026. LSHC executives that treat these areas as core strategic priorities—rather than isolated initiatives—are likely to gain a lasting competitive advantage.

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Endpoints:

ⁱAnalysis of 44,000 pieces of consumer feedback on 114 life sciences and health care brands from HundredX^™ 12-month trailing basis ending July 2025
ⁱⁱCMS proposes new mandatory GLOBE model, press release, CMS, December 21, 2025; CMS proposes new mandatory GUARD model, press release, CMS, December 21, 2025
ⁱⁱⁱConnected medical devices market (2025-2034), Polaris Market Research, September 2025
^iv2026 US health care outlook | Deloitte Insights

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