ZS Podcast · Management Consulting

Unlock Innovation with Connected Research for Biopharma

·27 min·1 clip

24% avoid medical care because it's a hassle, and another 24% avoid it because of cost.

Maria Whitman opens the conversation with the central problem: technology alone will not fix connected health, and more people moving faster will not fix it either. Rob Jekielek answers from a research and strategy perspective. The episode centers on ZS's work with Harris Poll on the future of connected health. Jekielek says the work mattered because it connected dots across several markets and constituencies. That broader view gives the discussion a systems feel instead of a point-solution feel. The show keeps coming back to what connected health means in practice, not just in theory. The answer keeps circling back to workflow, trust, and access. Maria and Rob spend real time on how people are choosing care today. Younger people, they note, often do not have a primary care physician even when insurance is available. Some are choosing very simple options to save money instead. Many are going straight to pharmacists for quick recommendations. That matters because pharmacists can act as a faster point of care. The episode also points to the regulatory flexibility that emerged during COVID. That flexibility made some interactions quicker and smoother. The concern, left hanging but clear, is that useful gains can disappear once the emergency fades. The conversation briefly uses blockchain as a comparison point, not as a prescription. The point is not that crypto solves healthcare. The point is that healthcare could use more transferable identity and more controlled sharing of information. The comparison makes the access problem easier to picture. Near the end, the discussion turns back to data itself. Rob argues that people do not need more data. They need a clearer, more incisive view of what is happening. That view matters most when it arrives early enough to support prevention. The closing note is collective rather than individual. The future of healthcare, the episode suggests, depends on people across the system stepping up together.

As heard by us

A steady look at connected health, access, pharmacists, and the limits of technology alone.

The discussion treats connected health through a biopharma lens and keeps coming back to a simple point: technology can help, but it cannot carry the load on its own.

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Why you'd press play

A grounded take on connected health, where human workflow still sets the pace.

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