EVENT: Nashville Healthcare Sessions
WHEN & WHERE: Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 29 – 30
THEME: Transformation in the Air
In a city whose skyline is the picture of constant change, it was only fitting that this year’s edition of Nashville Healthcare Sessions focused on transformation. The event, hosted by the Nashville Health Care Council, brought a wave of energy and brainpower to downtown Nashville, as 1,200+ and innovators from across the country convened to explore our industry’s future and showcase the power of innovation, collaboration and bold thinking – and, ahem, enjoy the dozens of afterparties on rooftops throughout Lower Broadway.
Here are 10 things – in no particular order – that were noticeably on-trend at Sessions 2025:
- Industry transformation. It’s happening! The number of real-world examples about breakthroughs being discussed made it clear that the talk over the last 10 years was finally turning into action. The key catalyst: partnerships.
- Going public. The whispers are starting to turn into actual conversations and strategic plans, and it’s sounding increasingly like we’ll see more healthcare IPOs in 2026.
- Omar Latif. It’s not a competition. But if it was, Dr. Latif wins the award for “Best Panelist” for the entire conference. The head of Rush University System for Health made for a delightful speaker who was honest, self-effacing and inspirational.
- Out-of-industry solutions. One example: CVS Health Ventures’ Vijay Patel talked about how they’re aiming to improve patient experience by investing in a customer service company from the retail space.
- Self-awareness. Veteran CEO Paul Kusserow can get away with many things the average person can’t (orange pants, for example), but he delivered a perfect start to his women’s health panel by sarcastically acknowledging his intentions to “mansplain” women’s health to the crowd.
- Whole-person care. In a conversation about specialty carveouts, Thyme Care CEO Robin Shah focused on the need for care teams to collaborate across specialties to understand a patient’s full range of needs. Later, Carrot CEO and founder Tammy Sun explained that the future of women’s health depends on a more unified model. Singular point solutions: so very 2019.
- Keeping it real. One thing made clear in panel after panel – the most compelling speakers were the ones who weren’t afraid to talk about failures, conundrums or revealing personal anecdotes.
- Accessible data. This was most apparent while listening to ŌURA CEO Tom Hale, who talked about how patient access to data is fundamentally changing the patient-provider relationship.
- Normal dress socks. I understand that whacky, bright-colored socks are one of the few ways for businessmen to express themselves, but I’m afraid it’s time for this trend to go back to the sock drawer. (Exceptions: Paul Kusserow; and Father’s Day gifts with kids’/pets’ faces on them.)
- The Healthcare City. The number of out-of-towners at this year’s event was an impressive metric to underline just how successful Sessions has become, bolstered by a new study from the Council showing $72B in local economic impact from healthcare. Kudos to Nashville Health Care Council President Apryl Childs-Potter and her team, who have clearly cracked the code on building a can’t-miss, multi-day healthcare conference.
— Ellis Metz, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
