Healthcare is a consumer brand (2026)

Is The For You Page more trustworthy than your doctor?

Something shifted in the last few years, I find it super fascinating

People are making healthcare decisions in the same way they choose everything else. Looking at reviews, word of mouth, branding, or simply just vibes. The same decision-making process to choose a coffee shop is being used to decide on picking their doctor, therapist, supplements, or sometimes people self-diagnosing themselves.

I think it started with the trust that was broken during COVID. This was trust with big institutions broadly, and healthcare unfortunately fell victim to this.

Guidelines changed weekly, one minute we were locked down and the next minute we weren’t. Amidst all this chaos, people ultimately had time and decided to take matters into their own hands. This was by doing their own research.

This behaviour did not stop once the pandemic ended. If you give people keys to have autonomy over their health, chances are they won’t give it up that easily. Healthcare-related searches on Google, TikTok, and Reddit are still on the rise and the wellness economy is exploding.

Healthcare has now become a consumer brand, and the people who win in this space are the ones who acknowledge this. They will be able to see that the psychology behind choosing a new coffee shop is going into healthcare decisions. Healthcare providers will be able to move forward with the times and help their patients.

This sounds like a great ideal, will it happen? I’m not sure traditional health systems will be able to keep up with demand. This is because the systems are so stretched and reacting to issues that come their way. This leaves a huge gap for others to enter the space. I believe OpenAI, Amazon and Anthropic are aware of this change, hence why there was a big push towards Health AI this year. They acknowledge that people are sitting up at 2 am and ultimately, the trust dynamics have changed. If they can be present for people in their darkest hour ultimately they gain the trust and respect.

This is a huge grey area in healthcare at the moment because it feels like navigating uncharted territory, and i know critics will say this is not safe. However, I think the trust dynamics and consumer expectations with healthcare have changed so patients will take matters into their own hands.

I have a longer video where i break this topic down even more here. I’d love to hear your thoughts

🔴Watch here: Why You Trust A Stranger on TikTok More Than Your Doctor