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Despite significant and widespread IT investments, findings published in Guidehouse's 2026 Healthcare AI Trends report indicate that nearly half of executives at hospitals and health systems still feel their organizations aren't operationally ready to deploy artificial intelligence technologies at scale.
But other health systems have been successfully scaling AI into clinical and administrative workflows to drive ROI – leading to digital divide that has persisted among smaller independent facilities that struggle to adopt these technologies due to resource constraints and infrastructure gaps.
WHY IT MATTERS
More than three-quarters (78%) of health systems are engaged in AI projects, but just over half (52%) feel operationally ready to implement them, according to the survey of 50 qualified healthcare leaders, which was conducted by HIMSS (parent company of Healthcare IT News), and analyzed by Guidehouse, a global professional services firm.
"Healthcare is ahead of other industries in deploying AI with point solutions, but many leaders are struggling to articulate a cohesive enterprisewide strategy," said Erik Barnett, Guidehouse partner and payer/provider technology leader.
The gap highlights the complexity of AI execution in healthcare, according to the researchers. But as organizations move from generative AI to more agentic workflows, leaders will need to drive a cohesive, systemwide AI strategy, said Barnett.
The hospital leaders surveyed cited key obstacles to implementing AI effectively:
- 48% said that they are concerned about cybersecurity and data privacy.
- 48% said limited budgets or competing financial priorities held the projects back.
- 42% said they had data quality, standardization, availability or governance concerns.
- 36% said that they lacked the internal expertise, leadership alignment or strategic vision to deploy AI at scale.
With data quality and governance often inconsistent in healthcare, achieving staff alignment can also be a challenge, the researchers said. The industry will need to strengthen governance and augment workforces to move forward.
THE LARGER TREND
This past year, nearly three-quarters of healthcare organizations indicated that they had increased their IT spending during the previous year and expected investments in AI and technology to continue to rise.
"This wave of AI adoption has been driven by 'test and learn' urgency, with boards and CEOs pushing teams to discover possible use cases," said researchers writing in The Healthcare AI Adoption Index.
They also found AI increasingly embedded in clinical and administrative functions.
"Mid-to-large providers are the exception, as they are early adopters with more resources to bring AI into production," they said.
Then, in September, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT said more health systems are adopting predictive AI. Nearly seven in 10 hospitals were using predictive AI in 2024, according to the agency's latest trends report.
However, adoption by independent facilities lagged behind hospitals connected to health systems, with just 37% adopting the technology, suggesting a digital divide in the realm of AI, ASTP/ONC said.
ON THE RECORD
"[Having a cohesive enterprisewide strategy] must be a priority for the entire C-suite – not just the CIO," Barnett said in the Guidehouse announcement. "Provider organizations need to identify the changes needed in their workforce, infrastructure and processes to get the most value from both current and future AI investments."
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
