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As healthcare organizations move from artificial intelligence pilots to production deployments, organizations are moving beyond experimental use cases, with a focus on operationalizing AI inside real clinical and administrative workflows.
Providers are embedding AI into everyday care delivery, with an emphasis on transparency, accountability and measurable performance improvements as the technology moves beyond the early hype cycle.
However, barriers to adoption persist, including legacy systems, unclear governance models and gaps in workforce readiness, requiring practical frameworks for aligning executive return on investment priorities with front line clinical needs.
Those challenges will all be tackled at the pre-conference HIMSS26 AI in Healthcare Forum in Las Vegas next month. Here's a look at just some of the presentations, panel discussions and education sessions to keep an eye on.
How Mass General Brigham Embeds AI Safety and Security into Healthcare's DNA
Jane Moran, chief information and digital officer at Mass General Brigham, will discuss how the health system is integrating AI safety and security into its core clinical and operational infrastructure, and why foundational governance and risk controls are now critical to scaling AI in healthcare.
In her session, Moran will outline how MGB built systemwide data governance, security and vendor oversight frameworks to support AI deployment across its 78,000-person workforce, while integrating AI into existing clinical workflows and strengthening organizational AI literacy.
From Hype to Reality: Guiding Leadership Through AI Transformation
This session will examine how healthcare leaders can move beyond isolated AI pilots and build scalable, results-driven adoption across clinical and operational environments. It will focus on how leadership teams can cut through common misconceptions, evaluate AI investments against measurable clinical and financial outcomes, and create adoption models that encourage physician use without forcing disruptive workflow change.
Amy Zolotow, senior fellow at Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine, Belmont University, will moderate an expert panel including Michael Archuleta, CIO at Mt. San Rafael Hospital; Michael Hasselberg, chief transformation and digital officer at Nebraska Medicine; Roberta Schwartz, chief innovation officer at Houston Methodist; and Tanay Tandon, CEO of Commure.
The Culture Code for Human-Centered AI: Building Trust and Literacy in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations must address the cultural and human barriers that prevent AI from scaling beyond pilots, focusing on building workforce trust, AI literacy and clear permission frameworks for safe, everyday use. The discussion will explore how leaders can establish governance structures, training programs and organizational practices that promote transparency, accountability and psychological safety.
Brian Spisak, senior partner and program director of AI and leadership at Csuite Growth Advisors and Harvard University, will moderate an expert panel including Heather Costa, director of technology resilience at Mayo Clinic; Guido Giunti, chief data officer, St. James Hospital; Shawn Isinhue, global head of business value services at Moveworks; and Brian Weirich, chief nursing innovation officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health.
Agentic AI: Reinventing Healthcare Operations for Better Care
Emerging agentic AI systems are being applied across healthcare operations to automate and coordinate complex administrative workflows, from patient access and contact centers to prior authorization, scheduling, billing and revenue cycle processes. The panel will discuss how advances in LLMs enable more contextual and responsive digital agents, and how AI agents can reduce operational friction, relieve workforce strain, and improve both patient and employee experience at scale.
Panel moderator Kali Arduini Ihde, director of ventures and innovation, Northwestern Medicine, will be joined by Craig Anderson, VP and corporate innovation officer at BayCare Health System; Amish Desai, CMO for population health at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare; Donna Fortson, SVP and CRO at WellSpan Health; and Jeff McCool, executive director of healthcare CAI strategy at SoundHound AI.
Fireside Chat: Aligning AI Strategy With Clinical Reality
Suresh Balu, associate dean for innovation and partnership and executive program director at the Duke Institute for Health Innovation, Duke University School of Medicine, and Jeffrey Ferranti, SVP and chief digital officer at Duke Health, will discuss how shared governance frameworks, clinician co-design and outcome-driven metrics can help health systems translate AI strategy into measurable financial performance and clinical impact.
This executive-level fireside chat will be moderated by longtime Duke AI pioneer Mark Sendak, now co-founder and CEO of Vega Health.
The HIMSS26 pre-conference AI in Healthcare Forum is scheduled for Monday, March 9, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., in Level 5, Palazzo E.
