As healthcare innovation accelerates, physicians play a critical role in shaping the technologies, care models, and policies that will define the future of medicine. Yet too often, they're brought into the conversation only after decisions have already been made.
Through Physicians @ HLTH, our Strategic Partner Physician Side Gigs is helping change that by ensuring clinicians have a seat at the table alongside founders, investors, health systems, and industry leaders.
We sat down with Nisha Mehta, MD, Founder of Physician Side Gigs and creator of the Physicians @ HLTH program, to discuss why physician voices are essential to healthcare innovation, what makes the HLTH experience different from traditional medical conferences, and how meaningful collaboration between clinicians and companies can lead to better solutions for everyone.
What gap did you see in the healthcare conference landscape that Physicians @ HLTH is designed to fill?
For years, I had been going to HLTH USA and learning so much, and I remember thinking, 1) Where are all the doctors? They need a seat at this table and a voice in these conversations, and 2) I want to share this experience with my colleagues, because this conference is such a lens into where healthcare is moving towards in upcoming years.
Knowing about what's in the pipeline, what investors are putting money behind, and what ideas are trending allows physicians to both contribute to the innovation ecosystem, as well as plan for the future, both for themselves and their patients. Every talk I went to or every exciting product I saw, I kept thinking, "If the 200,000+ doctors in my community heard or saw this, what would they think? What feedback or suggestions would they have?" So, I really just wanted to bridge that gap and lower the barrier to physicians attending these conferences.
How can healthcare organizations better engage physicians as strategic partners—not just end users—when developing new technologies and care models?
I believe companies and institutions have traditionally thought of clinicians and patients as populations they need to be building for, rather than partnering with. This mentality is a disservice to the ecosystem. The end users are the ones that know best what's broken, what the challenges to fixing it are, and who are able to tell you how an outcome or experience matters. Put simply, they are the ones that can separate the shiny objects from the ones that actually make impact.
Putting your ideas in front of a group of physicians and getting their feedback will not only tell you what works and doesn't work, but also gives you access to where they would take these ideas to make them even better. This is a highly insightful group of people that can provide you a roadmap to success - from go to market to implementation to future direction. It's a disservice to the industry to not have them at the table!
What makes the Physicians @ HLTH experience different from attending a traditional medical conference?
We all know that healthcare in 2026 is not just about the results of clinical trials and evolving care pathways. It's also about addressing everything that's broken in healthcare, and about building a future where patients have access to quality care, where technology is leveraged to augment outcomes and experiences, and where careers in medicine are sustainable for healthcare workers.
Traditional conferences address the former, whereas HLTH addresses the latter. If a physician wants to be a part of shaping the future of care delivery, HLTH is invaluable.
What advice would you give to physicians who are curious about innovation but aren't sure where to begin?
Start by starting. That begins with being in the room where the conversations are happening. Immersing yourself in this ecosystem will allow you to see what is interesting to you and where you can contribute.
Engage with stakeholders that are addressing topics that you're interested in or have expertise in, and they'll find plenty of ways to involve you in whatever capacity you have bandwidth for! They're eager to meet you as well.
If you could accomplish one thing through Physicians @ HLTH in this year, what would success look like?
To me, success of the Physicians @ HLTH program revolves around meaningful connections - for both physicians looking to get involved in the space as well as the companies that would benefit from their insights. I'd love to see more companies utilizing the Roundtables program - speaking from years of experience in helping companies connect with doctors, this opportunity offers more value than any other consulting venues out there.
It's in person, comes with the benefit of both individual and group insights, and allows unrestricted access to the physicians afterwards. It opens the door to meaningful collaboration that goes beyond a single 1 hour consultation, on terms that work for both the physician and the company needing their expertise.
Learn more about Physicians @ HLTH and grab your pass to HLTH USA 2026 and save $1,000+ before prices increase Friday, July 31st.
