This month is about the gap between what a system offers and what people actually get from it: drugs that work better with support nobody&#x27;s paying for, AI that&#x27;s already answering more medical questions than most doctors ever will, and a labor market where staying healthy can mean staying stuck. Halle and Michael break down the stories reshaping digital health in August. We cover: Why GLP-1 funding is shifting from prescribing platforms into &quot;companion&quot; ecosystems The FDA panel vote that opens a legal pathway for six unapproved peptides, and what this could mean Our thoughts on OpenAI&#x27;s new ChatGPT Health product, now available to every US adult The Florida pastor&#x27;s lawsuit against OpenAI Why nearly one in four US workers are staying in jobs they&#x27;d rather leave, just to keep their health insurance The healthcare argument buried inside the bill to make daylight saving time permanent Links: Rock Health, H1 2026 digital health funding recap Halle&#x27;s research piece, Virtual GLP-1 startups: Pill mills or the future of obesity care? RAPS, FDA advisory committee backs six peptides for compounding list TechCrunch, OpenAI makes ChatGPT Health available to all US users CBS News, ChatGPT&#x27;s medical advice nearly killed a Florida man, lawsuit claims Gallup, One in four US employees locked in jobs for health insurance The Hill, House passes Sunshine Protection Act — 📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026

The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

Welcome to The Heart of Healthcare Podcast. I'm Hallie Tecco I'm Michael Esquivel. And I'm Steve Krause. And every Monday, we bring you the latest in healthcare innovation as we sit down with entrepreneurs and industry experts. So buckle up and join us as we figure out how to improve healthcare for all.

Hello, listeners, and welcome back to the show. I'm Hallie Tecco I'm here with my co-host, Michael Esquivel, to bring you the top headlines from the last month in digital health. Hi, Michael. Michael Esquivel Hey, Halle. Good to see you. We have a mix of a ton of great stories this month. We're going to talk about OpenAI and ChatGPT,

GLP-1 companion product funding, peptides, health insurance, and daylight savings. So why don't you get us started? Let's turn to our favorite topic on this podcast, GLP-1s. And specifically, let's talk about GLP-1 companion platforms. So Halle, you probably saw Rock Health just released its digital health overview for the first half of 2026. And funding I'm pleased to report hit $7.4 billion

across 244 deals in the first half. That's up from $6.4 billion in the same period last year. And what's most encouraging, it's a clear continuation of the recovery from the 23-24 slump. So we're on the way up. Mental health continues to hold the top spot and it's done that for the last seven years running. But weight management and metabolic health platforms came in a strong second,

riding that continued GLP-1 wave with companies like eMed, Nourish, and Midi expanding into the space. I thought GLP-1 prescribing was like already pretty saturated. It's interesting to see investors continue to invest. They must think or know that there's room for more GLP-1 prescribers in the space. Yeah, great question, Halle.

📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.