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Looking back on the healthcare industry over the last 25 years

Exploring the pivotal moments that shaped healthcare

Remember the days when all patient details and notes were recorded on paper and when artificial intelligence wasn’t lurking in the shadows contemplating how it can take our jobs make our jobs easier?

Healthcare Brew remembers.

Patients now have “portals” with all their data and vitals. The Affordable Care Act has given millions of people in the US access to healthcare. A pandemic upended our society while also ushering in innovative medical research that saved lives.

Which is why we, alongside Morning Brew’s other professional publications, are embarking on the ambitious task of highlighting some big moments from the last 25 years. Because in order to understand the present and future, we need to have a clear understanding of the past.

But beyond those tectonic moments, we’re also exploring how developments in areas of importance for the industry—like the rise of health equity, the introduction of robotics, and the growing threat of cybersecurity—have impacted the business of healthcare.

So join us as we take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane, stopping along the way to examine the last quarter-century of changes in a way that only healthcare pros know how: with meticulous, highly detailed, thoroughly researched reporting.

2000

2001

Two middle aged white men with lab coats stand holding a glass object in medical office.
July 2001

Doctors implant the world’s first self-contained artificial heart in a Kentucky patient

2002

Two people in lab coats work side by side in a lab setting. Various viles, bottles, and equipment fill the room.
July 2002

Stony Brook University scientists successfully create and test the first synthetic virus

2003

2004

A nurse in a face covering looks intently at data on an open laptop screen.
April 2004

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is established for EHR adoption

2006

2007

A close range shot of a hand holding a pill bottle labeled with Purdue Pharma and dosage information.
May 2007

Purdue Pharma pleads guilty and agrees to $600m fines over OxyContin marketing

2009

Obama and Nancy Pelosi's signatures on an official document with leather binder.
February 2009

The HITECH Act is signed to improve healthcare data security

Obama signing a bill surrounded by citizens and family members of various ages, races, and genders.
June 2009

The FDA begins tobacco regulations through the Tobacco Control Act

Looking for More?

We’ll be adding to our Quarter Century Project every month for all of 2025. Check back for additional stories or subscribe to Healthcare Brew for all of your industry needs.

Script Stuff!

Editorial

Executive Editor: Josh Sternberg
Managing Editor: John Del Signore
Editor: Nicole Ortiz
Editorial Operations: Ben Marx
Reporters: Maia Anderson, Cassie McGrath, Caroline Catherman
Standards & Style Desk: Nicole Jones (Managing Editor), Sarah Jang (Copy Editor)

Design

Design Director: Alyssa Nassner
Art Director: Frank Scialabba
Designers: Anna Kim, Emily Parsons
Illustration: Jason Sol

Special Thanks To

Lance Holt, Abbie Winters