As 2025 drew to a close, SmartBrief subscribers were reading about a variety of important health care developments, including topics like clinician shortages and access challenges in rural areas. They also wanted to know about the first oral GLP-1 drug approved to treat obesity, and a former CDC leader’s insights on the future of health care in the home.
Tech to the rescue
What happened: Many subscribers read a mid-December SmartBrief Originals story about rural hospitals turning to telehealth and hospitalist care to expand patient options and boost clinician job satisfaction. Many rural regions are at a disadvantage with the closing of community hospitals, the ending of service lines like labor and delivery, and a shortage of physicians willing to work in outlying regions.
The Piggott Health System in Arkansas uses virtual services to connect rural acute-care patients with specialists in areas like pulmonology and neurology. “The onus is on local leadership to introduce a new mindset – and a new set of capabilities to the community,” wrote Dr. Saurin Patel of Access TeleCare.
What’s next: A White House roundtable discussion in January focused on using technology to bolster rural health care. President Donald Trump and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz emphasized the importance of innovation in this area. The Rural Health Transformation Program, funded by the Working Families Tax Cut Act, is intended to improve long-term access to high-quality care, including remote services, for people in outlying areas. Oz called the Rural Health Transformation Fund “the largest investment ever in American history in our rural communities.”
Staffing solutions
What happened: The nation’s rural family physician workforce has declined in recent years, from 11,847 in 2017 to 10,544 in 2023. At the same time, the data showed an increase in the percentage of female family physicians, from 44% in 2017 to 49.3% in 2023. Dr. Colleen Fogarty of the University of Rochester noted that many residency programs now have larger proportions of women than men, which should translate into more female physicians willing to serve in rural areas. “I think solutions [to rural physician shortages] need to be local and national,” Fogarty added.
What’s next: Some universities are looking for ways to alleviate rural physician shortages by widening their capacity. Leaders of the new University of Minnesota Medical School in St. Cloud are hoping to contribute by training students in the types of rural settings where they will practice. Minnesota Department of Health data show that the average age of the state’s rural physicians is 60 years old, with about one-third eyeing retirement in the next five years.
“This is the time to be able to invest in systems and in people who are motivated to serve rural communities, and that’s what we have here at this campus,” university official Chris Fallert said.
Drug developments
What happened: The FDA approved the first GLP-1 pill for obesity in December, a 1.5-mg semaglutide tablet made by Novo Nordisk. The company said the starting dose would be available by January. Some health experts noted that the tablet form could be especially convenient for patients who are not comfortable with injections.
What’s next: The once-daily pill may also prove more affordable than injectable forms of the drug. Novo said the tablets can be obtained through pharmacies and some telehealth providers for as little as $149 per month without insurance, about half the cost of the injectable version.
A Goldman Sachs analyst projected that GLP-1 pills could account for nearly a quarter, or about $22 billion, of the weight loss drug market by 2030. Novo Nordisk competitor Eli Lilly & Co. has said it is developing a similar product.
Health at home
What happened: Former CDC director Susan Monarez said at a conference that she believes up to 90% of health care services will be delivered at home in the not-too-distant future. This will be made possible because of technological developments and an increasing focus on prevention and wellness rather than sick care. Monarez said she envisions advancements such as AI tools that can help people remember to take medications and make good health decisions.
What’s next: Data from advisory firm PWC suggest that the US home health care market could reach $239 billion by 2030, rising at an annual rate of nearly 8%. The company says main factors in this growth are likely to be an aging patient population that wants greater convenience and affordability, digital advancements including telehealth, wearables and remote monitoring, and increasing CMS adoption of home health platforms.
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