The VSP Global Innovation Center (GIC), the innovation arm for vision care leader VSP Vision™, and MATTER continue its Lens Into the Future series with a deep dive into healthcare’s influencer era — where trusted clinicians are building digital followings and sharing evidence-based insights that empower patients beyond the exam room.

As providers become creators across social platforms, podcasts and video, the patient journey is being reconstructed: discovery happens on TikTok and Instagram, trust is built through digital interaction, and education is delivered in formats that meet patients where they are. However, this flood of accessible, digestible health content also places greater responsibility on patients to navigate fact from fiction.

During this virtual event, we’ll explore how the rise of the healthcare influencer economy is influencing how patients discover, evaluate, and engage with health services, blending credibility with community.

Event overview:

Industry experts, founders and healthcare leaders will explore how the provider influencer economy is changing the way patients learn about health, and what it means for outcomes, equity and system performance. We’ll examine the momentum behind this shift, including:

• Consumer behavior: 20 percent of consumers report using social platforms for health information.
• Clinician engagement: Nearly half of physicians engage with healthcare influencers or key opinion leaders on social media multiple times per day; another 42 percent do so daily or weekly.
• Trust signals: Nearly 70 percent of U.S. social media users follow or engage with health influencers, and 63 percent of healthcare consumers report trusting health information shared by influencers.

What attendees will gain:

• A clear framework for how provider-led content is expanding access to health education and empowering patients.
• Best practices for clinical quality, compliance and transparency in creator-led health content.
• Strategies for health systems and innovators to amplify accurate, evidence-based information and combat misinformation.
• Insights for digital health teams on building platforms that prioritize trust and accessibility.
• Vision care implications: how eye care professionals can leverage educational content to advance preventive health.
• Actionable playbooks for providers and startups to share credible insights responsibly and inclusively.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

• Dr. Natalie Davis, Chief Medical Officer, PreventScripts
• Dr. Owais Durrani, Emergency Medicine Physician, Memorial Hermann Health System
• Eris Hanson-Cooper, Founder/CEO, GenWell, Inc.
• Dr. Hillary Lin, Co-Founder/CEO, Care Core
• Dr. Brianna Rhue, Optometrist and Co-Founder/CEO, Dr. Contact Lens

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Zachary Poll

Ecosystem Principal, VSP

Zachary Poll is the ecosystem principal at VSP, LP at Scrub Capital, angel investor and mentor at Techstars. He previously led U.S. healthcare partnerships at Plug and Play, and did clinical research at the University of Chicago Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Cambridge.

About MATTER

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 1,000 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.