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Healthcare highlights: Amazon, YouTube, AI, weight loss drugs

Healthcare affordability and access represent some of the biggest challenges Americans face everyday. What if I don’t choose the right insurance provider? Are healthcare executives feeling confident about the global economy, their local environment, or even their own companies? Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani spoke to experts across the industry to answer these questions and more as part of the weekly series "Healthcare: Industry Checkup." SCAN Group & Health Plan President and CEO Sachin Jain broke down the evolution of healthcare since the COVID-19 pandemic. "These large institutions that people typically relied on for care were local and people felt like they had a real relationship with them, Jain said. "Today people are increasingly accessing care through virtual means as well as through other channels." YouTube (GOOGL) recently announced it will elevate quality control and address medical information with the help of the experts. Google Chief Clinical Officer Michael Howell explained, "We worked with groups like the National Academy of Medicine to define the key aspects of what makes something a credible source and then ... began to operationalize those inside of YouTube." Aflac (AFL) US Chief HR Officer Jeri Hawthorne discussed the top things you need to know to prepare for open enrollment. Hawthorne said, "My advice for families is to actively review, become educated consumers, and think about healthcare planning almost like you're thinking about financial planning." Daryl Tol of General Catalyst broke down the transformation of healthcare, as non-traditional companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) enter the space. Tol explained, "What we're looking for is how do you create transformation of this many headed monster called healthcare that has frankly become too complex, lost sight of the consumer, and left a lot of open spaces not yet being addressed for change." The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need to address airborne risks, which go beyond COVID-19 to other viruses and health impacts. Director of Harvard's Healthy Buildings Program Joseph Allen said, "People finally woke up to the reality that the way we manage our buildings including air quality ... determines how healthy we are." Corporate Synergies Group SVP John Crable addressed the current challenges in the mental health space and options for employers to help employees. Crable explained, "It's really giving them access, it's creating avenues to talk to mental healthcare professionals and providers." Bank of America Senior Analyst Geoff Meacham discussed the impact of weight loss drugs, as major drug manufacturers Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Lilly (LLY) are undergoing clinical trials for new GLP-1 drugs. Meacham said, "I still think next year. It's still very early innings with regard to adoption." Dr. Geeta Nayyar, Former Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce, broke down the use of AI within the healthcare industry. Dr. Nayyar explained, "Prior authorization alone could save us billions and billions of dollars ... but this idea that we're going to go to Dr. Google or a robot is going to deliver your baby, patients don't want that, consumers don't want that, and neither do doctors." Amazon has made a big push into the healthcare industry. Amazon Pharmacy delivers prescriptions directly to customers' doors. Amazon Pharmacy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vin Gupta said, "All these feature sets are really set to address the biggest problem in healthcare, which is patient information, patient awareness of services, of products that can actually result in lower cost to them for their prescription medication." Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf discussed the role of the FDA in the healthcare industry, specifically as it relates to weight loss drugs. Califf explained, "Weight loss drugs may be the easiest to talk about right now because everyone recognizes there's so many questions ... FDA plays a role, but so do many other parts of the government and the private sector." Video highlights: 00:00:03 - SCAN Group & Health Plan President and CEO Sachin Jain 00:00:22 - Google Chief Clinical Officer Michael Howell 00:00:41 - Aflac US Chief HR Officer Jeri Hawthorne 00:01:06 - Daryl Tol of General Catalyst 00:01:23 - Director of Harvard's Healthy Buildings Program Joseph Allen 00:01:46 - Corporate Synergies Group SVP John Crable 00:02:03 - Bank of America Senior Analyst Geoff Meacham 00:02:31 - Dr. Geeta Nayyar, Former Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce 00:02:53 - Amazon Pharmacy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vin Gupta 00:03:16 - FDA Commissioner Robert Califf Watch all of Yahoo Finance's special coverage "Healthcare: Industry Checkup."