The ultimate CES 2026 health programming guide
This January, we’ll be reporting from the ground at one of the consumer tech industry’s biggest events.
• 3 min read
Caroline Catherman is a reporter at Healthcare Brew, where she focuses on major payers, health insurance developments, Medicare and Medicaid, policy, and health tech.
CES, among the biggest tech conferences in the US, is almost upon us, and there will be loads of devices and perspectives that could help elevate medical care to the next level.
The Consumer Technology Association’s annual gathering attracted more than 140,000 attendees in 2025. The 2026 conference, from Jan. 6–9, is set to be another week in Las Vegas full of big names and cutting-edge technology.
The conference will feature health-centric tracks including Digital Health, Future of Health, the Women’s Health Summit, the AARP: AgeTech Summit, and APA Behavioral Intelligence—The Next Tech Revolution.
We’ll be on the ground to fill you in on all the digital health and health tech developments you need to know. But why wait? Here’s a preview of what to expect.
Agenda highlights. The conference will have dozens of health-focused sessions featuring leaders from major tech companies—Nvidia, Samsung Electronics, Google, and Microsoft AI—consultancies like PwC and Deloitte, plus major healthcare systems including Cleveland Clinic and health companies like Eli Lilly.
Execs will discuss the next decade of healthcare, dissect the hype behind longevity tech and agentic AI, and talk tech-fueled disruption of drug discovery and the growing influence of tech giants in the health industry, to name a few big topics.
Speaking of big topics: Let’s turn to wearables.
The global wearable medical device market is expected to triple from $103 billion in 2025 to nearly $325 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights. Perhaps this explains why wearables are going to be such a popular topic of conversation—as they have in years past.
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On Jan. 6, we’ll be turning our ears to a session on biowearable tech led by Lisa Earnhardt, EVP and group president of medical devices at medtech company Abbott.
The next day, execs from glucose monitoring company Dexcom and Finnish health tech company Oura (as in, the Oura ring) will take the stage to discuss how continuous health data is changing the standard healthcare model. Then comes a Jan. 8 session where leaders across the industry will dive into how sensors are guiding precision medicine and clinical decisions.
Policy will also be a hot topic of conversation this year. We plan to tune into a Jan. 6 panel featuring the Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill to get a sense of the Trump administration’s priorities within digital health.
Expos. Making our way over to the exhibit hall, major health tech companies will be showcasing their latest innovations.
Nonprofit AARP will once again host an AgeTech collaborative booth featuring fireside chats about how to enable safe, healthy aging. Last year, the booth featured 24 startups and 34 sessions.
Electronic health records giant Oracle will also be on the exhibit floor highlighting its healthcare solutions, as will Samsung Electronics’s Samsung Health, which bought digital health platform Xealth earlier this year in a step toward enhancing data-sharing between its suite of wearables and clinical teams.
The conference will also once again feature a Digital Health Lounge, a place for networking and connecting with fellow health tech fans and buyers.
Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.