But across 2025, PYMNTS\u2019 reporting treated the sector less like a purely clinical domain and more like a sprawling, regulated marketplace where the hardest problems are administrative, financial and increasingly digital. The common thread was not a new gadget or a shiny app. It was the widening mismatch between how care is delivered and how it is paid for.<\/p>\n
Early-year coverage framed the business backdrop. PYMNTS reported that digital health venture funding<\/a> reached $10.1 billion in 2024, down from the prior year but still above pre-pandemic levels. Late-stage companies faced tougher capital conditions and a renewed push toward consolidation and partnerships.<\/p>\n In a January interview, Manatt Health<\/a>\u2019s Jared Augenstein<\/a> described 2025 as \u201cthe year of evidence,\u201d saying that HealthTech firms would need to demonstrate clinical impact and measurable ROI to remain viable.<\/p>\n PYMNTS data added texture to the demand side, where the digital shift is in evidence.<\/p>\n The PYMNTS Intelligence report \u201cThe Digital Healthcare Gap: Streamlining the Patient Journey<\/a>\u201d found that two-thirds of consumers use patient portals, and older cohorts are not necessarily digital holdouts. \u201cThe Digital Platform Promise: What Baby Boomers and Seniors Want From Digital Healthcare Platforms<\/a>\u201d revealed that baby boomers and seniors reported high satisfaction with receiving test results online and meaningful participation in digital healthcare activities.<\/p>\n Advertisement: Scroll to Continue<\/p>\n The takeaway is that digital adoption is broadening, but uneven, and the patient journey still breaks down at the financial step.<\/p>\n AI Moved From Pilots to Production<\/p>\n Interviews and analysis during the year documented a shift in healthcare artificial intelligence from experimentation to scaled deployment, with governance as the gating factor.<\/p>\n Aashima Gupta<\/a>, global director of healthcare strategy and solutions at Google Cloud<\/a>, told PYMNTS in an October interview that ROI in healthcare<\/a> is not only about efficiency but also about creating conditions for better care. She also warned against positioning AI as a clinician.<\/p>\n Google Cloud research indicated that many healthcare and life sciences executives reported AI agents in production, and data privacy and security were central selection criteria.<\/p>\n Several PYMNTS conversations focused on where AI is being aimed first. It\u2019s not at diagnosis, but at workflows that determine whether providers get paid and patients get answers. Autonomize AI<\/a> CEO Ganesh Padmanabhan<\/a> told PYMNTS in July that large language models make it possible to distill information from complex clinical documentation<\/a> and contextualize it for different workflows, exactly the kind of work that has historically resisted automation. The company\u2019s emphasis includes administrative processes, such as insurance approvals and patient communication.<\/p>\n The same trust first theme appeared in a discussion about AI-powered digital twins. Unlearn<\/a> founder Jon Walsh<\/a> told PYMNTS in June that the goal is not incremental improvement but a re-architecture of clinical research<\/a>. The company has spent seven years earning regulator confidence, positioning digital twins as a way to reduce reliance on placebo groups and accelerate trials.<\/p>\n In one of the year\u2019s most concrete examples of AI meeting the patient experience, Weave<\/a> announced in May its acquisition<\/a> of TrueLark<\/a> to automate scheduling and front-office communication.<\/p>\n Weave Chief Operating Officer Marcus Bertilson<\/a> told PYMNTS that patients expect immediate answers, but still end up waiting on hold. Weave bets that the most scalable interface may not be an app at all, but the phone augmented by conversational AI.<\/p>\n By the Numbers: Consumer Costs<\/p>\n The consumer angle in 2025 was anchored by PYMNTS Intelligence\u2019s Generational Pulse<\/a> findings, which repeatedly linked digital care adoption to financial strain and payment friction.<\/p>\n Midyear reporting showed telehealth<\/a>\u2019s mainstream status among young cohorts. PYMNTS cited survey results that found that roughly 30% of Generation Z and millennials used telehealth for their most recent visit, versus single-digit usage among baby boomers. Mental health stood out as especially virtual. But the reporting emphasized that nearly 7 in 10 Gen Z patients encountered payment issues, including limited digital payment options and insurance-related hassles.<\/p>\n \u201cClicks, Care & Copays\u2014How Each Generation Navigates Digital Healthcare<\/a>,\u201d a June report, sharpened the \u201cexpectations gap.\u201d It found that payment barriers hit young generations hardest and that baby boomers were more likely to describe their last healthcare payment as easy. The implication for banks, payments providers and digital wallet players is that healthcare may be adopting digital care channels, but it still lacks consumer-grade financial plumbing.<\/p>\n Late in the year, PYMNTS\u2019 Generational Pulse coverage turned to affordability. The November edition, \u201cEconomic Pressures Split the Generations as Each Rethinks the Basics<\/a>,\u201d found that 80% of Gen Z<\/a> said healthcare costs strained their budgets, and sizable shares delayed doctor visits or skipped recommended tests due to cost. Insurance coverage does not eliminate the problem, as premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs collide with early-career finances.<\/p>\n Telehealth and Insurance Are Payments Stories<\/p>\n