I have spent my career at the intersection of medicine, software, and behavior change, from building digital tools for children with learning disabilities, to driving digital endpoints at Novartis, to leading Newel Health’s portfolio of certified digital therapeutics. What I see in Simon Kucher’s Better Health Report 2025 is the clearest signal yet that prevention has tipped: awareness is up (73%), usage is up (81%), AI is in the decision loop (55% overall; over 80% among ages 18 to 28), and nearly half of consumers now spend more than €20 per month on prevention.
What the data really says
- Five forces are reshaping self care: consumers still weigh price, but efficacy wins; digital enhances rather than replaces traditional products; HCPs remain the most trusted voices; journeys are omnichannel; GenAI is rising fast.
- Personas matter. “Luca” (non engager), “Sabine” (wellness seeker), and “Julian” (longevity hacker) frame three distinct prevention mindsets that guide product, channel, and pricing strategy.
- The real bottlenecks: time pressure (54%) and affordability, plus a capability gap. Seventy one percent say they would engage more with better support and clearer recommendations.
- Omnichannel is table stakes: 59% increased online use versus three years ago; 68% prefer a blend of online and offline; even 62% of consumers aged 60 plus want digital support.
- Trust anchors decisions: medical doctors (79%) and pharmacists (67%) lead. Proven or promised efficacy is the entry ticket. Price still matters, but value perception matters more.
How I am translating this into practice
At Newel Health, we build regulator approved software medical devices that fit real lives and clinical workflows. We are a certified SaMD legal manufacturer (ISO 13485 and 27001; MDR and FDA aligned) with a platform (h.Core) designed to learn from real world use and adapt interventions, not just screens.
- Hypertension (Amicomed). CE marked (MDR Class IIa). It interprets blood pressure patterns and delivers structured, guideline aligned lifestyle support. One hundred seventy thousand measurements across more than 2,800 subjects underpin its clinical logic. We are deploying through payers, providers, and select direct to consumer channels.
- Chronic pain (ROHKEA™). CE marked (MDR Class IIa) VR enabled digital therapy. Early NHS pilots in the UK have accepted pricing at about £1,000 per patient. Finland’s national payer funded our first cohort.
- Parkinson’s (Soturi). Co developed with Orion Pharma and supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. We are advancing toward a validated dosing optimization algorithm.
This build for evidence, design for use approach is the through line of my journey, from Oppimi’s data driven therapies for learning disabilities to digital endpoints and launches across the US, Europe, Japan, and China at Novartis, and now to Newel.
A pragmatic roadmap for manufacturers, payers, and providers
- Lead with outcomes. Efficacy is non negotiable. Prove it, price to value, and show time to benefit. Consumers pay when performance is clear.
- Design for Luca, Sabine, and Julian, not for average. Segment journeys and messaging by mindset and risk stage.
- Make hybrid the default. Blend pharmacy and HCP touchpoints with digital continuity. Remove friction across advice, purchase, and follow up.
- Use AI with guardrails. Younger segments already rely on it. Integrate AI for triage, personalization, and coaching, and keep HCP trust at the center.
- Target the two biggest barriers head on. Save time through automation, micro routines, and reminders. Boost affordability through tiered pricing, payer bundles, and over the counter plus digital combinations.
Where we go next
Prevention has momentum. Without trusted evidence, hybrid delivery, and behaviorally intelligent design, engagement will stall. My focus is simple: make certified digital therapeutics people actually use, that clinicians can trust, and that systems can adopt at scale. If we execute on that, the promising numbers in this year’s report become durable health gains measured not just in months lived, but in life enjoyed.
About me: CEO, Newel Health; previously led digital endpoints and DTx strategy at Novartis; founder and CEO Oppimi (M&A exit); board roles across EU, US, and China.
Source: simon-kucher.com/en/insights/better-health
Ervin Ukaj · October 2025