Global health network develops framework for health-care transformation as European systems face mounting pressures

One response to this challenge came into focus last month when hospital CEOs and policymakers from around the world gathered in Los Angeles for the annual Future of Health Summit. The network, which includes senior global leaders from health systems, government, academia and industry is attempting to turn shared healthcare challenges into collaborative solutions through a research-driven approach.

The Future of Health (FOH) is a network of over 60 senior leaders from health systems, government, academia and industry across 14 countries, including Germany, Sweden, Australia, the United States, Canada, and Singapore. The organization’s stated mission is to redesign healthcare for 2035 and beyond by turning shared challenges into collaborative solutions.

This year’s summit focused on leadership and strengthening primary care and chronic disease management, topics particularly relevant in Europe, where health services face mounting pressures from aging populations, clinician shortages, and fiscal constraints. The roadmap endorsed at the meeting includes accelerating digital transformation to enable proactive, data-driven care; strengthening and expanding the health workforce; promoting equity to ensure innovation benefits all populations; and fostering international collaboration to scale proven solutions.

"To solve the challenges of healthcare, we cannot just try harder. We must rethink and transform," said Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, FOH co-chair and Chief Innovation, Transformation and AI Officer at Sheba Medical Center in an official press release from the organization.

The network operates through a distinctive research methodology. Each year, FOH members identify priority topics, select expert co-chairs to lead working groups, and spend months developing position papers that translate into policy recommendations and practical pilots. Recent topics have ranged from emerging health professions to patient safety, population-based healthcare systems to equitable access, all issues that transcend borders.

The November summit, co-hosted by Cedars-Sinai, brought together senior executives, policymakers and innovators to examine how digital tools, advanced analytics and virtual care models are reshaping clinical practice. Discussions challenged participants to move from what some called "innovation theater" to actual implementation by deploying technology where it produces measurable outcomes in chronic disease management, home-based monitoring and clinical triage.

What distinguishes FOH from conference discussions is its focus on tangible outputs. Position papers become policy recommendations, and working group discussions translate into implementation playbooks that health leaders can adapt. FOH members note that the year-round community provides access to peers across different regulatory and financial systems, offering CEOs a platform to test ideas with international counterparts, exchange alternative approaches to shared problems, and gain insights from both successes and setbacks, perspectives they rarely encounter in day-to-day operations.

For Europe, the challenges are significant, but the continent’s assets may position it well for this type of collaboration. Europe’s network of public health systems, integrated care models and research universities could make European leaders valuable contributors to global healthcare transformation. Countries with advanced primary care systems and experience navigating complex regulatory environments bring expertise that FOH’s collaborative model seeks to leverage.

The organization’s research methodology, identifying issues, debating solutions, and publishing recommendations, provides a process for addressing healthcare priorities including interoperable health records, workforce redesign, payment models aligned with prevention, and deployment strategies that prioritize implementation over discussion. As healthcare systems across the continent grapple with these challenges, experienced leaders have opportunities to both contribute to and benefit from this global dialogue.

Healthcare appears to be entering a decade defined by AI, data integration, and care model redesign. FOH’s premise is that leaders who collaborate across borders have better prospects for transforming their own health systems. According to Prof. Zimlichman: "FOH is here to write the textbook for the future of health. The coming decade will redefine how care is delivered and experienced."

Europe, with its public health infrastructure and commitment to equity, is positioned to play a significant role in shaping the frameworks that will guide global healthcare transformation in the coming years. Whether European health leaders will take a seat at the table now may determine how much influence they have over the blueprint being written for 2035.

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