Global & WHO, Explained: The 2026 Field Guide
What global & who covers, why it matters in 2026, and the numbers decision-makers should know.
Budget season has a way of clarifying priorities, and this year the spotlight is on global & who. International guidance and global digital health governance. This explainer sets out what the category actually covers, why it has moved to the center of policy & regulation strategy, and the numbers every decision-maker should have at hand.
What it covers
International guidance and global digital health governance. In practice, that spans the vendors building the technology, the health systems and payers deploying it, and the regulators writing the rules around it. The category sits inside our broader Policy & Regulation coverage, and its daily developments stream into the live Global & WHO feed.
Why it matters in 2026
Consider the current numbers: the FDA-CMS TEMPO pilot ties regulatory evaluation to real-world outcomes and Medicare coverage, with Dexcom as its first participant (our coverage).
Meanwhile, the proposed CY2027 fee schedule would create Medicare's first payment category for clinical AI software (our coverage).
Meanwhile, eleven states have enacted twenty laws governing AI in mental health, from outright bans to crisis-routing mandates (our coverage).
What to watch next
Three signals will tell you where global & who goes from here: the reimbursement decisions now moving through CMS and commercial payers, the consolidation pattern as larger platforms absorb point solutions, and the evidence base - peer-reviewed results increasingly separate durable categories from demo-ware.
The bottom line
For leaders building 2027 plans, this belongs on the shortlist of capabilities to own rather than outsource. For the latest developments, follow our continuously updated Global & WHO topic page.