Source: Featured Blogs - Forrester
Forrestal's framing of a "consumer revolution" in healthcare reflects a real structural shift: AI-enabled diagnostics and direct-to-consumer services are eroding the gatekeeper role of traditional primary care and insurance intermediaries. Pharmacy chains, telehealth platforms, and consumer genomics companies are already capturing patient relationships that were previously locked behind referral networks. Incumbents must compete on convenience and price transparency or become administrative layers that patients work around. This is measurable in the growth of DTC mental health (BetterHelp, Ro), at-home testing (Everlywell), and AI triage tools that patients now reach before calling their doctor.