Author: Lidziya Tarasenka

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Healthcare professional with a strong background in medical journalism, media redaction, and fact-checking healthcare information. Medical advisor skilled in research, content creation, and policy analysis. Expertise in identifying systemic healthcare issues, drafting reports, and ensuring the accuracy of medical content for public and professional audiences.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration switched on its agency-wide generative AI system Elsa on June 2, 2025. The promise was faster scientific reviews, less bureaucratic “busywork,” and ultimately quicker access to new therapies. It’s only been six months, and the system is not without its flaws, but it’s definitely marked the start of a new AI era in how food, drugs, and devices are regulated. What effects of deployment can we see so far?

At the start of 2026, Europe’s healthtech scene doesn’t slow down. January opens with a tight cluster of high-stakes events — where regulators, clinicians, and digital health leaders gather to confront what’s next. From cross-border data use to hospital-based AI, these meetings aren’t just about vision. They’re where priorities get negotiated.

In late 2025, the market is saturated with medical apps and digital therapeutics, yet new HealthTech ventures keep launching. Is there a room or need for more? Dr. Uladzimir Svirkoū, a Pain Medicine Doctor and HealthTech Advisor, argues that as long as problems like endless MRI waiting lists persist, technical solutions are required. 

November’s agenda brings together policymakers, clinicians, and innovators in Madrid, Brussels, Strasbourg, and London for cross-sector discussions on resilience, AI, and translational science.

Some things come to stay. Podcasts manage this with almost nothing: a voice and a good question. No slides, no b-roll – just people who know their field thinking out loud. Here are five we actually learn from, not just listen to.

Do AI tools make clinicians better, or do they atrophy the very skills that keep patients safe?
The history of medicine contains many episodes of “redistribution” of skill. Each time, the practice reorganized and, overall, outcomes improved. Yet AI is definitely different from any instruments we’ve ever seen