Healthcare in the AI era

The opportunities for AI in healthcare are vast, and the urgency to act is clear. By embracing AI strategically, healthcare organizations can reshape their systems to meet growing demands while empowering professionals to deliver the care patients deserve.

Key takeaways for healthcare leaders

• AI is proving its clinical worth through early detection and monitoring.
  Four in ten healthcare executives already use AI for inpatient monitoring and to provide early warnings about patient health issues. This area is expected to see full implementation of AI and agentic AI within the next three years. And 69% expect AI to enhance their ability to adapt to changing clinical demands, including quicker responses during future public health crises.
• AI is an antidote to bureaucracy, giving providers more time for patient care.
  Applying AI to back-office processes, such as claims automation, can free staff to dedicate more time to patient care. Currently, 34% of healthcare executives are using AI in revenue and budget cycle management, while 67% see the greatest opportunity for AI in enhancing payer-provider coordination and claims integrity.
• AI is a workforce multiplier for healthcare organizations.
  As healthcare organizations deploy more gen AI and agentic AI solutions, one-third (34%) of healthcare executives expect AI to help improve productivity by coordinating multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals across departments or even across hospitals.
   

77% of healthcare executives say AI is delivering clear and measurable competitive advantage to their organization.

FAQs about AI in the healthcare industry

• Where is AI having the most impact on healthcare?
  Today, 39% of healthcare executives use AI for in-patient monitoring and early warning systems. This is expected to be the only area where AI and agentic AI will be fully implemented in the next three years.
• Which business applications do healthcare executives see as having the greatest potential for AI?
  More than two-thirds of healthcare executives see AI’s greatest opportunity in improving payer-provider coordination and claims integrity.
• How can AI help alleviate staff shortages in health care settings?
  In an industry that expects a global shortfall of 18 million workers by 2030, AI assistants can help overstretched staff to improve productivity and liberate frontline healthcare providers from time-consuming administrative tasks.
• Where are some of the greatest challenges for integrating AI into healthcare?
  More than half of healthcare executives, 53%, say that cybersecurity and patient data protection are their greatest challenges. And 54% are concerned that they do not currently have the right internal clinical capabilities to deliver, deploy, and scale AI systems.
   

69% of healthcare executives say AI will contribute significantly to their organization’s financial performance over the next three years.

What healthcare organizations can do now to realize AI’s potential

• Establish strong governance frameworks to support AI deployment.
  Secure commitment from top leadership and involve stakeholders from clinical practice, administration, IT, legal, and other disciplines. Develop clear AI policies and procedures that support patient privacy, AI model transparency, and ethical standards through rigorous data governance practices. Provide comprehensive training to all employees who work with AI including clinicians, administrative staff, and IT professionals.
• Give privacy-first healthcare a booster shot with system modernization.
  Build secure data handling and robust cybersecurity platforms by implementing strong encryption protocols, access controls, and regular security audits. Use zero trust frameworks—mandating strict identity verification and authorization for every access request—for resilience against emerging threats.
• Encourage people and AI to co-create and get smarter together.
  Create human-in-the-loop workflows that combine the time-saving capabilities of AI with the human capacity to make complex decisions, provide empathy, and add the personal touch. Use KPIs such as patient satisfaction, compliance, and cost savings to track success. Promote success stories that show how employees with AI skills are making an impact on healthcare quality.

Download the report to help your healthcare industry clients embrace AI strategically to meet growing demand, while empowering clinicians to deliver the care patients deserve.