Reflections from Digital Health Festival 2025

From clinician leadership to practical innovation, the Digital Health Festival 2025 revealed how technology can evolve healthcare with integrity and compassion. Enlighten Me shares key takeaways from this energising event.

Reflections from Digital Health Festival 2025: Why Clinicians Must Shape the Digital Future

This month, Melbourne hosted one of the most energising events on the healthcare calendar—Digital Health Festival 2025. With over 8,000 delegates, 300 speakers, and countless conversations, it was a celebration of how technology is reshaping healthcare in thoughtful, patient-centred ways.

Enlighten Me were proud to exhibit at this year's event, and our Founder, Dr. Angela Kwong, was invited to join the panel on “Digital Health Career Paths” alongside a dynamic line-up of industry leaders.

Celebrating Non-Linear Paths into Digital Health

The panel discussion, featuring Dr. Angela Kwong, Ryl Jensen, Sophie Turner, and Professor Jim Buttery, highlighted how diverse and non-linear the journey into digital health can be. From policy and academia to General Practice, each panellist shared their unique motivations for stepping into this evolving space.

What united them was a common goal: to improve care systems for patients and clinicians alike. For Enlighten Me, that journey began in the consult room—recognising the need for a more integrated, proactive approach to weight management. The result was a digital-first, medically supervised weight loss program grounded in evidence, accessibility and compassion.

Clinicians as Digital Leaders—Not Just Users

One of the most inspiring aspects of the festival was the strong clinician presence—not only in attendance but in leadership roles. This signals a shift in how we design and govern healthcare technology.

At Enlighten Me, we believe clinicians must play a central role in shaping digital solutions. Technology should not be something that happens to healthcare—it must be something co-created within it. When clinicians are involved in digital governance and design, we keep what matters most at the centre: the patient and provider experience.

A Full-Circle Moment for Enlighten Me Shakes

Although our primary focus was sharing the Enlighten Me program, it was heartening to see so much interest in our high protein meal replacement shakes. Many visitors were curious about how a doctor came to develop them—and the story resonated.

Dr. Kwong, like many working in General Practice, was caring for patients using GLP-1 medications who were experiencing low appetite, nausea, reflux and nutritional shortfalls. It became clear that the available options weren’t meeting their needs. Rather than settling for what was already on the market, we took a different path—formulating a high protein meal replacement shake from scratch that was gentle, clean, and effective.

To now see these shakes embraced by clinicians, pharmacists, and digital health leaders is a reminder that innovation often begins with listening—to patients, to colleagues, and to lived experience.

Digital Health with Integrity

What stood out most at this year’s festival was the shared understanding that digital health is not about replacing clinicians—it’s about enabling them. From reducing administrative burdens to supporting continuity of care, digital tools can and should enhance our ability to practise medicine with care, connection, and confidence.

But clinical judgment, empathy, and advocacy can’t be coded—and nor should they be. That’s why Enlighten Me is committed to being part of a digital health landscape that holds onto these values, while embracing the tools that help us do better.

To everyone who visited the Enlighten Me stand, shared your story, or engaged in meaningful discussion—thank you. The conversations we had at the Digital Health Festival were affirming, inspiring, and energising. Together, we’re shaping a future of healthcare that is as innovative as it is human.