Healthcare leaders told Becker's that emerging technologies such as ambient listening, AI-driven automation, and advanced remote patient monitoring are set to transform healthcare in 2025 by tackling workforce shortages and boosting operational efficiency.
The executives featured in this article are speaking at Becker's 10th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference. The conference will take place Sept. 30th - Oct. 3rd at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What emerging technology or trend do you believe will have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the next year?
Alaa Alsadi, MD. Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at UW Health (Madison, Wis.): Automation, in the basic sense of transportation and delivery of business supplies. This is a trend I see being planned and road-mapped in many institutions, due to the staff shortages and the need for workforce redesign in the current challenging healthcare environment. I am referencing applications such as robotic transportation and delivery of pharmacy medications, laboratory specimens, nutrition and culinary services, supply chain items such as PPEs and linen, and EVS. Usually applied via robotic carts and/or humanoid robots with underlying technologies varying from guided mobility all the way to advanced computer vision.
In media, most are running after AI initiatives to automate clinical providers and clinical staff mental tasks such as textual-based communications (e.g. AI generated/augmented patient portal responses) and high order mental tasks (e.g. abstraction and summation with ambient listening). Understood and justifiable, however, automating a task that occupies major bandwidth for the clinical staff -that is the task of ambulating from point A to point B while carrying a business supply, is extremely impactful and deserves attention. I believe the topic is underrepresented in publicity due to factors related to where each technology falls on the hype cycle, but also could be due to most automation initiatives being led more by operational leaders who might not be as spoken out as the clinical leaders in executive roles (in their highlighting of the current AI topics).
Angel Islas. Finance Director, Surgery Department at Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, N.Y.): I believe we are approaching a time when healthcare technology tools will undergo more rigorous market testing.
As these technologies continue to mature, I am hopeful that their implementation will become easier, and costs will decrease. Currently, we are still at the beginning of a new tech cycle, but I am excited to see how tech companies evolve and become more accessible to a greater number of health systems. In the past, innovations like electronic health records and telemedicine have transformed patient care by improving efficiency and access to medical services. Similarly, we need accessible tools to scale our operations and reduce costs.
Bo Wilkes. Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tenn.): In 2025, artificial intelligence has the potential to address the workforce challenges of the healthcare industry, making it more efficient than ever before. The industry needs to be focused on AI platforms that can augment challenges within healthcare and revolutionize how we improve efficiency, get back to delivering personalized care, and ensure better health outcomes for individuals and communities alike. However, the focus must be on platforms with measurable outcomes designed to reduce the administrative burden, allowing clinicians to return to the bedside to strengthen the bond between patient and caregiver.
Bill Gress. Director of Revenue Cycle Operations at Cottage Health (Santa Barbara, Calif.): Autonomous coding is a great opportunity for health systems to gain efficiencies in the short term. Early data is showing that these solutions are above the quality of a human coder for select service lines, faster, and is projected to only improve as the models for doing this work improve. This effectively reduces your AR, improves CFB, reduces costs, and can reduce FTE needs. In terms of transformation, AI’s impact on coding has been disproportionately larger than other areas in the RCM space so far.
Biju Samkutty. Chief Operating Officer, International & Enterprise Automation at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): I am excited about the potential of AI agents in healthcare.
AI agents hold transformative potential to accelerate the evolution of healthcare by augmenting decision-making, personalizing care, and automating repetitive tasks. These agents can analyze vast amounts of patient data, including medical histories, imaging, and genetic profiles, to provide clinicians with real-time, evidence-based insights. This allows healthcare providers to make faster, more accurate diagnoses and tailor treatments to the unique needs of each patient. For example, AI agents integrated with electronic health records can flag early warning signs of disease, recommend treatment pathways, and even predict outcomes, enabling proactive rather than reactive care. By enhancing the speed and precision of medical decisions, AI agents empower clinicians to focus more on delivering compassionate, human-centered care.
Beyond clinical settings, AI agents can optimize healthcare operations, improving efficiency and accessibility. They can streamline administrative workflows, such as scheduling, billing, and resource allocation, reducing the burden on staff and minimizing errors. AI-powered virtual assistants can guide patients through appointment booking, answer questions about symptoms, or provide medication reminders, ensuring better engagement and adherence to care plans. In public health, these agents can analyze population health data to identify trends, predict outbreaks, and inform policy decisions. As healthcare systems strive to balance quality, cost, and access, AI agents serve as powerful tools to drive innovation, foster equity, and reimagine what’s possible in delivering care.
Charlette Stallworth. Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at Stanford Medicine Children's Health (Palo Alto, Calif.): I am excited about current trends in health care innovation focusing on equity. Many hospitals, start-ups, and tech companies are spearheading digital strategies, utilizing AI and machine learning to address health care disparities. By ensuring unbiased data, monitoring algorithms for potential biases, and emphasizing equitable access to care, we are making significant strides in this direction. As market dynamics lead to uncertainty around rural hospitals and the treatment of certain patient groups, I remain hopeful that innovating for equity will mitigate such impacts. Ultimately, innovation efforts must strive to ensure high-quality, accessible health care for all individuals, especially those in underserved areas.
Christine Fredric. Senior Executive Officer, Strategy and Growth, West Florida Division at AdventHealth (Tampa, Fla.): Solutions that focus on the follow up care needs of patients that touched the health system:
- Technology combined with analytics that identify and rank order patients that need follow up care.
- These patients can be from the ED that were not admitted, but that need specialty care follow up within a specific time frame (i.e., Patient needs to see a cardiologist within 3-days for additional outpatient testing.
- These patients can be post-inpatient discharges that need additional outpatient care and/or specialty care follow up (i.e., NICU babies, Heart Patients).
Health systems that leverage technology solutions to identify these “high value” follow up care needs that also implement people/concierge practices to assist with scheduling follow up care will likely see significant favorable results such as: (a) Increased patient satisfaction which can directly impact CMS Star Ratings (b) Higher in-network utilization including increased “net new” patients into the system (c) improved financial results from additional in-network follow up care
Christopher G. Maloney, MD, PhD. Executive Vice President, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer and Physician-in-Chief at Children's Nebraska (Omaha): In 2025, the emerging technology having the most significant impact on healthcare organizations will be ambient listening.
2024 brought ambient listening into the clinic to deliver templated provider notes, decreasing “pajama time” and freeing up time for family and friends. Organizations will begin to leverage ambient listening beyond a clinic visit, including inpatient documentation by nurses, quality personnel, and other ancillary services, freeing up time from manual documentation for other essential tasks, like updating patients and families.
Chrisanne Timpe, MD. Medical Director at HealthPartners Park Nicollet (Bloomington, Minn.): Undoubtedly an improved remote patient monitoring system focused on acute illness will have a huge impact in the next year. Currently none of the devices on the market or vendor offerings truly meet the needs of this population, though improvements are being made. Research and development in this space will be important in order to safely provide acute care in the home to a larger census of patients.
CJ Lilly. Director of Digital Health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: The most obvious answer, and one that many will likely mention, is AI and its potential to reduce the administrative burden placed on healthcare providers across the care continuum. However, I believe the real game-changer won’t be a single technology, but rather the seamless integration of these emerging technologies. My focus is on ensuring that information flows smoothly between all the emerging technology and finding advanced ways to utilize it effectively. AI tools, in particular, must be embedded directly into workflows to genuinely enhance efficiency, rather than becoming yet another tool clinicians have to manage. Providers need fewer places to look for data and information, not more, to truly streamline their work and improve patient care.
Curtis Haley. Chief Revenue Officer at Cook County Health (Chicago): I believe the single largest impact on healthcare organizations this year will come from improvements in cyber security solutions. The past couple of years has seen an increase in cyber attacks in most industries but within healthcare it's increased substantially. With the projected improvements in solutions comes the expansion of the health system's IT security teams and certifications.
Cynthia Salisbury, MSN, RN. Executive Director of Nursing Operations at Providence (Renton, Wash.): For emerging technology, I anticipate continued and significant expansion of AI. AI is not intended, nor could it replace the highly skilled critical thinking and compassionate care of our caregivers. Rather these are tools used as an adjunct and accelerator to enhance caregiver and patient satisfaction. As caregivers continue to realize the benefits that AI can bring as a resource to support care and ease burden from an operational, cognitive and practice perspective, engagement and utilization of AI will expand. We will see enhanced development of collaborative partnerships between AI teams and clinical caregivers. Continued and strengthened clinical engagement is essential to ensure that the AI tools being developed are effective in addressing the highest needs and meeting the appropriate standards to support care.
From a trend perspective, I believe we will see refinement of virtual nursing as models are optimized to bring the highest value in care outcomes and experience across various care settings. Over the past few years, diverse models of acute care virtual nursing have been put into practice across several health systems. This approach will now allow us to explore the effectiveness of distinct components as health systems have been studying and collecting data on their models. This year, I expect to see numerous publications demonstrating outcomes, including testimonials from caregivers and patients, thereby supporting evidence-based advancements and more wide-spread adoption of this imperative model of care delivery. In addition to model optimization and spread, these publications will support transformations that must occur to allow innovation to thrive, including progression in the development of appropriate metrics to ensure safe staffing through new models of care.
Diane Constantine, MSN, RN. Director, Clinical Informatics at University of Maryland Medical System (Baltimore): The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical decision-making and operational workflows is poised to have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the coming year. AI-driven tools, such as predictive analytics for patient outcomes and automated administrative processes, can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve patient care. Additionally, advancements in wearable technology and remote monitoring will further enable personalized medicine and expand access to care beyond traditional clinical settings.
Edward Moore. President at UMassMemorial Health Harrington (Southbridge, Mass.): Moving care to the home with significant use of remote patient monitoring (AI driven) for patients with chronic conditions. This will reduce readmissions and free up beds that are already overcrowded while improving patients' overall health, satisfaction with the health care system and their quality of life.
Eric Snyder. Executive Director, Technology and Innovation at Wilmot Cancer Institute (Rochester, N.Y.): I believe vertical AI solutions will have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the next year. These specialized tools are designed to address the unique challenges healthcare faces, such as proactive clinical trial matching, ambient listening to improve provider-patient interactions, and enhanced medical imaging for faster, more accurate diagnostics. By delivering immediate ROI, vertical AI empowers organizations to realize tangible benefits quickly. Unlike general AI, vertical solutions are tailored to specific clinical and operational needs, making them more effective in driving meaningful change versus more general AI approaches. As healthcare demands grow more complex, vertical AI provides a focused and impactful approach that is essential for improving outcomes and efficiency.
Fernando A. Small, PhD. Executive Director of Clinical and Business Solutions at MD Anderson Center (Houston, Texas): As we enter this new year of innovation and ongoing intrigue into all the capabilities that AI will provide health systems in support of their mission, I’d be remised if I didn’t highlight the ongoing efforts many health systems are taking to enhance, update, or replace their foundational Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms. As an industry, the effective support and financial management of our team members and resources have become an increasing priority each fiscal year as the revenue cycle landscape becomes more challenging. Many organizations are evaluating their existing platforms to take advantage of more robust integration, functionality, and data modeling that modern cloud platforms offer.
Over the last two decades, we’ve seen efficiencies gained through the enhancement of our EHRs, but we often lag behind in our back-office systems that manage many of our day-to-day administrative activities. My colleagues and I continuously hear of provider-based organizations embarking on RFPs to identify ERP platforms that can provide tools to support our HR, Finance, and Supply Chain activities in a more comprehensive and transparent way. Much of this is taking shape as we observe how other industries in retail, logistics, and hospitality have improved various aspects of their administrative operations by adopting new ERP solutions. While this will stretch well beyond just 2025, I know the drive to scale into highly capable ERP platforms will continue to leave a large mark and impact on many healthcare organizations in the near future.
Heather O’Sullivan. President and Chief Operating Officer of Healthcare at Home at Mass General Brigham (Somerville, Mass.): The future of healthcare is at home, and home hospital is one of the most innovative models delivering hospital-level care to patients. This transformative, technology-enabled approach to acute care improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes.
As a result, hospital at home is offered in 39 states and by 378 hospitals. In the coming year, advancements in data analytics fueled by artificial intelligence will allow us to identify eligible patients and their needs more proactively and more effectively, ultimately enhancing patient experience and clinical outcomes. Additionally, innovative digital solutions will advance the care orchestration of Home Hospital through better integration and connectivity for enhanced consumer, caregiver and clinical team communications.
Isaiah Nathaniel. Senior Vice President and CIO at Delaware Valley Community Health (Philadelphia, Pa.): It would be easy for me to say that AI will have the biggest technology impact on healthcare in the next year because that has dominated the conversation recently and for good reason. While I do believe it is and will be a game changer in healthcare for years to come, I think that the term AI is a catch all and within that there are multiple streams that define its impact.
One in particular is a hidden gem that in my opinion will have a big impact in 2025 with a higher adoption rate and that is ambient listening. As more healthcare organizations start to tackle the provider experience of the quadruple aim, the technology in ambient listening solves many of those quadrants by attempting to solve the one elaborate dilemma of provider burnout.
Jaideep R. Deshpande. Executive Director of Strategy and Marketing at University of Illinois Chicago: In 2025, I believe the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into clinical decision-making and administrative processes will have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations. These technologies are already beginning to transform areas such as diagnostic accuracy, personalized treatment plans, and patient outcomes, while also streamlining operations and reducing costs. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of patient data quickly and accurately will empower healthcare providers to deliver more efficient, targeted care. As adoption increases, we’ll likely see improved workflows, better resource management, and more proactive care models that focus on prevention rather than treatment.
For example, in my area of dentistry, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly being utilized to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of diagnostics, particularly in analyzing dental X-rays. AI algorithms can analyze X-ray images to detect early signs of dental issues such as cavities, gum disease, root infections, and other abnormalities that might be missed by the human eye. These tools can improve diagnostic accuracy, speed up treatment planning, and enable more personalized care for patients.
One such company that comes to my mind is Overjet that uses AI to assess dental X-rays and identify issues like cavities and other oral health problems. The platform aims to improve diagnostic accuracy and streamline the clinical workflow.
James T McElligott, MD. Executive Medical Director for the Center for Telehealth at Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.): As trendy as inpatient virtual nursing programs are, I believe they are actually undersold and underutilized. In the next year, I anticipate that the use of virtual nursing will become so impactful and prevalent that it may seem to be less ‘trendy’. Nurses continue to be the relatively unsung heroes of healthcare, as they are the true drivers of success that make it all work. This will be no different in the virtual care world.
James J. Matera, DO. Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at CentraState Medical Center (Freehold, N.J.): There are several trends that can become either threats or opportunities for the future of healthcare especially over the next 12-24 months. One of the most important is the impact of Artificial Intelligence. With the wealth of newer technologies from ambient voice recognition, to imaging assessments, we must be aware of these and ensure that they are beneficial for us. We must address the AI Cancers especially BIAS, which can skew the data and give incorrect information about clinical circumstances. We must be stewards of AI as it becomes more prevalent in our culture.
Jasmine Bishop, Managing Director, MedStar Telehealth Innovation Center, MedStar Health (Columbia, MD): Within the industry broadly, we are going to see cameras and infotainment systems in more patient rooms across the hospital, inclusive of ED and inpatient spaces. The technology is not new though the penetration will increase exponentially and the ways it's used will broaden as well. Many health systems, including MedStar Health, are already leveraging cameras to bring care teams and family members to the bedside. We’ve recently broadened the use of the hardware to support patient safety and the infotainment system to improve patient experience and education. At full maturation in the years ahead, this technology will interoperate with additional acute care monitoring devices and the patients’ own devices, including wearables. I anticipate that looking across the industry, patients will eventually be able to use their phones as a TV remote and their smart watch data will be visible in their patient chart.
Judd Hollander, MD. Senior Vice President of Healthcare Delivery Innovation at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pa.): I have to think 90% of people will say AI, but I think the most disruptive innovation will come from the clock. We will find that there are more than 8-9 hours in a day. We are going to learn that in order to increase access, we have to increase capacity. Rather than buy more buildings we can just expand use of the resources we already have into the evenings and on the weekends. The places that hire people to work during these hours are going to improve access and growth the most.
J. Scott Smitherman, MD. Associate Vice President and CMIO at Providence Clinical Network (Olympia, Wash.): Physicians and APCs are already describing ambient documentation in terms usually reserved for falling in love or the birth of a child.
Most health systems are just starting the journey of implementing this technology at scale, and it will soon be a standard. As lifechanging as the current state can be, we are only scrapping the surface of the advances this will unlock. Soon, the AI powered clinical assistants will not only be able to generate excellent documentation but assist physicians and APCs with ordering, find relevant information in the patient record, and serve up clinical decision support.
Kathleen Sanford, RN. Executive VP and CNO at CommonSpirit Health (Chicago): Interest in deployments of artificial intelligence will accelerate. Healthcare organizations will be inundated with offerings and pitches from vendors and start up companies selling "AI" solutions or ideas. Leaders will need to devote an increased amount of time to ensuring they are not influenced to adopt an exciting new technology idea, if it is not supportive of the priorities they have identified as essential to their strategy. This is not to say that tactics should not change, either over time or quickly, but that strategy should drive AI adoption and not the other way around.
Kara Tomlinson DNP, RN. Executive Director, System Care Delivery and Innovation at Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha): AI has already revolutionized many aspects of healthcare, but its potential impact on falls prevention specifically could be transformative in the next year. Falls remain a significant concern in healthcare settings, both from a patient safety and a financial standpoint, as they contribute to injuries, extended hospital stays, and increased costs.
At Nebraska Medicine, we have a focus on AI-enhanced sensor technology and camera systems to allow for continuous, non-invasive monitoring of patients and using computer vision to detect early signs of instability or behaviors associated with an increased risk of falling. These systems can provide real-time alerts to caregivers, ensuring timely intervention without constant in-room presence. We are hoping this will shift us from a reactive approach to falls management to a proactive and predictive model that improves safety and outcomes.
Ken Dunham, MD. Executive Director Medical Services - Behavioral Health at Sentara Healthcare (Norfolk, Va.): The HRSA report on Behavioral Health Workforce predicts a shortage of licensed behavioral health professionals until at least 2036.
Healthcare systems will continue to feel the pressure of inadequate BH providers, especially in areas of safety net and crisis care such as emergency departments. Trends will include leveraging technology to create workforce multipliers, to help the available BH and emergency providers work more efficiently. I believe appropriately vetted AI has a role here to help providers risk stratify patients and I think AI will be an important tool in the clinical toolbox for crisis care.
Keisha Downes, BSN, RN. Vice President, Mid-Revenue Cycle at Beth Israel Lahey Health (Cambridge, Mass.): Better understanding and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) is a trend that I feel will have a significant impact on healthcare organizations in the upcoming year.
As AI becomes more and more accepted as a tool to support teams in optimizing workflows and productivity, we will see this technology leverage increase. It is important to align AI usage with the same integrity and compliance guidelines that we expect from our teams. With this alignment, there is higher confidence in allowing AI to support some repetitive workflows, allowing our teams to focus on more complex workflows which require additional strategic thinking.
Lynnette Clinton. CIO at BayCare Health System (Clearwater, Fla.): We have seen a growing use of ambient listening to help physicians with documentation. In my opinion, this technology can help the industry realize the promise of EMRs with less documentation burden. Ambient listening and other AI agents for nursing and other clinicians are poised to have an even bigger impact on the delivery of care. These voice tools allow a deeper level of focus on patient care and outcomes.
Mark Helms. Executive Director of Strategy and Analytics at UChicago Medicine: AI language learning models are poised to have a major impact in 2025. While many organizations have already begun rolling these out, we can expect continued proliferation in the coming months as the positive impact to provider and patient experience alike is significant. Longer term implications from these technologies for billing and reimbursements should continue to come into focus more this year as well.
Mark D. Townsend, MD. Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati, Ohio): Emerging technologies that empower operational efficiency will have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the years ahead. In an era of narrow margins and payer-compression of healthcare delivery, technology must create value by helping us 'work smarter, not harder.'
For example, if our nurses are spending 30% of their days documenting, how do we alleviate the burden of documentation? If manual workflows exist for pathology, how do we digitize pathology to improve efficiencies? If we still see no-shows as part of every ambulatory clinician’s workday, how do we empower our patients to schedule appointments on their own terms, while optimizing our own workflows? Our partnerships need to create value with tangible returns now, more than ever!
Marti Arvin. Vice President, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.): Artificial intelligence has already made a significant impact on healthcare, but it will only continue to do so.
As organizations are constantly looking for ways to make processes more efficient and help avoid provider burnout, the use of AI will continue to grow. AI solutions are available for virtually every stage of healthcare and as the industry moves toward value based care it will be imperative for organizations to be able to access, evaluate, and respond to data more quickly. AI will help support this.
Melinda Cooling, DNP. Vice President of Advanced Practice and the Chief Clinician Executive, OSF OnCall at OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.): How AI is integrated into the care delivery models will likely have a large impact. Garnering the positive aspects that AI can bring could bring more time to clinicians and better patient care in the end. The key will be educating and empowering our clinicians with this technology so they can see how it impacts care.
Michael Archuleta. CIO at Mt. San Rafael Hospital (Trinidad, Colo.): AI and remote patient monitoring are not just emerging technologies they are the cornerstones of a new era in healthcare, one where innovation meets compassion to transform lives. At Mt. San Rafael Hospital, we are leading this charge, leveraging AI to elevate diagnostic imaging to unprecedented levels. Through advanced AI-driven tools, we’ve streamlined the detection of critical conditions like strokes and fractures, cutting down diagnosis time and improving patient outcomes in ways previously unimaginable. But our vision extends beyond the walls of the hospital.
The integration of AI with remote patient monitoring is revolutionizing how we deliver care, particularly in rural and underserved communities. By harnessing real-time patient data and AI's predictive capabilities, we are shifting from a reactive model of care to a proactive one, allowing for earlier interventions, better chronic disease management, and improved patient engagement. These technologies empower clinicians to deliver personalized, data-driven care that addresses the unique needs of every individual, no matter where they are.
As a CIO, I believe that the healthcare leaders of tomorrow must act today, embracing these transformative tools with an unwavering commitment to equity, innovation, and excellence. By adopting AI and RPM, organizations will not only tackle workforce shortages and operational inefficiencies but will also redefine the very meaning of care, making it smarter, faster, and more human-centered. At Mt. San Rafael, we are not just imagining the future of healthcare; we are building it, one groundbreaking solution at a time. This is not just about technology, it's about saving lives, inspiring trust, and creating a legacy of excellence that will shape healthcare for generations to come.
Michael Laukaitis. Director, Revenue Cycle Analytics, Accounting and Quality Assurance at UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, Texas): We're seeing a tremendous surge in AI adoption across healthcare — especially in generative AI (large language models) and machine learning. While AI has been a discussion point for years, recent advancements have made these technologies more accessible and ready for widespread, practical use.
At our organization, we've been actively working on several AI initiatives — including clinical denials management, radiology scheduling optimizations, and robotic process automation — to improve operational efficiency.
Michelle Tutem Greame, MD. Assistant Vice President, Revenue Integrity at Inova Health System (Falls Church, Va.): AI is expected to rank among the top investment opportunities for healthcare organizations in 2025. To ensure successful adoption, health systems must prioritize building a robust infrastructure that supports AI integration. Key opportunities will center around enhancing workflow efficiencies and demonstrating a clear ROI. These advancements will provide significant benefits, improving both system support functions and clinician’s workflows.
Nabil Chehade, M.D. Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Clinical Transformation, Innovation and Strategy Officer at MetroHealth (Cleveland, Ohio): Several emerging technologies and trends are projected to significantly impact healthcare in 2025. Among these are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). These technologies will primarily affect smarter decision support tools and improved predictive analytics. AI-powered tools are anticipated to aid in diagnosing diseases and recommending treatment plans based on specific patient data. Additionally, predictive analytics models are expected to forecast patient outcomes, identify at-risk populations, and enable early preventative care.
Nigel Hartell. Chief Architect, Information Technology at Seattle Children's: There continues to be a great deal of focus and activity related to artificial intelligence (A.I.) and it is almost impossible to comment on current and emerging industry trends without mentioning A.I.
The trend within healthcare for this year will be a further and bolder push of applying artificial intelligence closer to direct patient care. Software as a medical device and the integration of offerings from device manufacturers has of course been operating in the clinical arena for some time, this will be augmented by solutions tangentially and will be more complementary to EHRs and clinical assessment and diagnostic than the industry has supported previously as increased familiarity of AI builds confidence. This will extend into multi-modal models further gaining traction with the natural alignment to the diversity of data (such as discrete, textual, imaging, waveform etc) in the provider setting. I anticipate that while Agentic AI will likely by highlighted and have some edge scenarios where such solutions are successfully deployed, standards in some form may be needed to bridge the multiple parties where this potential could be effectively leveraged between patients/consumers, providers, payers, state and federal government entities.
Nirmit D. Kothari, MD. Associate Chief Medical Officer at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis (Tenn.): The increasing adoption of wearable devices, coupled with the expansion of tele-monitoring programs, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, will be the key technologies that will profoundly impact health care organizations in the coming year.
Advanced wearable devices, characterized by enhanced accuracy and reliability, will enable real-time data collection, facilitating disease prevention, early detection, post-discharge monitoring, and timely interventions. This, in conjunction with the expansion of telemedicine will enable healthcare professionals to provide care to patients outside traditional healthcare settings, such as homes. This shift in care delivery settings has the potential to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare is poised to revolutionize the field. AI-powered algorithms and machine learning techniques can analyze vast amounts of data quickly and efficiently, accelerating medical research and drug discovery. AI will also increasingly aid in clinical diagnosis and the creation of personalized care plans.
Additionally, natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs) will become crucial tools in medical transcription, clinical documentation, coding, and clinician-patient communication. These technologies will enable efficient and accurate communication between healthcare professionals and patients, streamlining administrative tasks and improving patient care.
Nolan Chang, MD. Executive Vice President, Strategy, Corporate Development, and Finance at The Permanente Federation (Oakland, Calif.): Generative AI is likely to influence nearly every aspect of health care—from personalized care to automated workflows. This past year, Kaiser Permanente embarked on the largest generative AI project in health care to date with the rollout of an ambient listening tool to physicians across 40 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices across the United States. The tool supports doctors and other clinicians by capturing clinical notes during visits with patients, enabling physicians to remain focused on talking with patients rather than on documentation or administrative tasks. In the near future, we’re likely to see generative AI used in many areas of health care. For example, by analyzing patient data, generative AI can tailor treatment plans to individual needs, leading to more effective therapies.
Patti Curatas. Executive Director and Associate CMIO at Mount Sinai Health System (New York, N.Y.): I still believe that interoperability and data integration, while not a new or necessarily emerging trend like AI and ML, is incredibly important and impactful and I would double down on this technology. Basic data exchange is foundational, especially when it is reliable, and systems can send data to one another without advanced interpretation. Key to this as well is clear organizational policies, processes, and governance to ensure smooth collaboration across organizations. This will allow health systems to give providers the means to have access to a patient’s complete medical history with the goal of better patient outcomes, cost savings and increased patient satisfaction as well, by giving patients greater control over their own data.
Pam Austin. CIO and Senior Vice President at Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tenn.): One emerging technology poised to have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the next year is generative artificial intelligence (AI or GenAI). Its potential spans clinical, operational, and patient-facing domains. As such, at Ballad Health, we are exploring the transformative potential of AI in enhancing patient care and identifying the most effective ways to implement AI-driven solutions.
From my view, GenAI is not just an emerging-trend — it represents a pivotal step toward a more efficient, personalized, and accessible healthcare system.
Paul J. Lukac, MD. Director, Applied Artificial Intelligence; Assistant Clinical Professor, Pediatrics at UCLA Health (Los Angeles): Without a doubt, ambient listening documentation (AI scribes). Health systems are starting to wrap up pilots in mass, and we hear the demand from providers, so enterprise contracts will follow. Given the large number of vendors, it will be interesting to see who’s still standing in 2026.
Rachel Dallmann. Senior VP of Clinical Operations at Phelps Memorial Health Center (Holdrege, Neb.): One of the most impactful emerging technologies in healthcare organizations over the next year will likely be artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the areas of patient care and administrative efficiency. AI-driven tools for imaging analysis, predictive diagnostics, and personalized medicine are already transforming healthcare practices. In the next year, AI is expected to enhance clinical decision support systems, allowing healthcare providers to identify diseases earlier and with greater precision. This could lead to better patient outcomes and more efficient treatment plans, improving overall healthcare quality. Furthermore, many healthcare organizations are adopting AI solutions to streamline administrative tasks like scheduling, billing, and claims processing. These solutions are improving operational efficiency by automating routine processes, reducing human error, and freeing up team member’s time to focus on patient care. As administrative burden is reduced, healthcare providers can focus more on patients, improving both staff satisfaction and patient experience.
Racheal Hernandez. Lead Director, Operations at Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Remote patient monitoring has continued to increase across organizations to try to reduce the cost of chronic conditions. Heart failure and hypertension exhaust much of an organization's resources, but patients with end stage renal disease and oncology patients are the most high cost patients in your patient population . Organizations operating with any full risk insurance contracts would benefit from implementing value based care kidney care programs, tools to manage emerging oncology drugs, and automated care management. Each with the ability to use technology to systematically and efficiently manage patients for optimal outcomes.
Rajiv Pramanik, MD. Chief Information Officer and Chief Health Informatics Officer at Contra Costa Health Services (Martinez, Calif.): I think the advent to consumerism and private equity monetizing healthcare will have profound impacts on the relationship between patients and their care givers. I suspect it will change, and it worries me if personalization will be more automated rather than real. At the same time I am hopeful that with AI and big data we will be able to develop better algo rhythms for care and improve outcomes.
Rahul Kashyap. Medical Director of Research at WellSpan Health (York, Pa.): Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are poised to have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the coming year. These technologies enable more accurate diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, and predictive analytics for better patient outcomes.
AI-powered tools, like natural language processing and large language models (generative AI) streamline administrative tasks such as medical coding and patient record management, first call responding, reducing costs and improving efficiency. Additionally, wearable health devices and remote monitoring systems, combined with AI, enhance telemedicine capabilities, providing real-time insights and facilitating proactive care. As healthcare organizations adopt these innovations, they will improve patient experiences, optimize resource allocation, and address workforce shortages more effectively.
Rebecca Stametz. Vice President, Digital Transformation at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.): Geisinger is committed to deliver best in class care. That care is often enabled by digital mechanisms, and potentially increasingly so in the future. Artificial intelligence, specifically ambient documentation technology, is well positioned to assist in that aim in a variety of ways; decreasing the burden on our providers, allowing more time to be spent with the patient, and advancing quality – which translates to better care for patients and members.
Regina Foley, PhD, RN. Executive Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive & Chief Clinical Transformation and Integration Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.): At Hackensack Meridian Health, we are keenly focused on leveraging technology to enhance patient care and improve outcomes, while also boosting caregiver satisfaction and streamlining operations. This includes virtual nursing, which offers an elevated care experience for our patients and for our team at the bedside. The work of virtual nursing staff reduces the administrative burden on clinicians and allows for increased direct care interaction. In addition, remote monitoring, Epic software enhancements, and wearable devices for vital signs are all initiatives presently underway as we work to transform the clinician experience and enable our organization to deliver the highest quality patient-centered, accessible and efficient care.
Reid Stephan. Vice President and CIO at St. Luke’s Health System (Boise, Idaho): AI will continue to be a transformative force in healthcare, acting as an equalizer in the historical trade-off between clinician experience, patient experience, and return on investment (ROI). Traditionally, improving two of these areas often came at the expense of the third, but AI-driven solutions now enable healthcare organizations to simultaneously enhance all three. Capabilities like generative AI, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation are reducing administrative burdens, empowering clinicians with actionable insights, and personalizing patient care. By streamlining operations and improving outcomes, AI not only delivers favorable financial returns but also fosters a more satisfying and sustainable healthcare experience for all stakeholders. Organizations that adopt AI strategically will lead the way in creating more connected, efficient, and equitable care.
Sam Shen, MD. Vice Chair, Clinical Operations and Quality at Stanford University School of Medicine (Palo Alto, Calif.): As hospitals and Emergency Departments continue to face challenges related to capacity constraints and overcrowded EDs, I believe a continuing technology trend will be the use of digital health tools like telemedicine to address issues related to access that often leads to patients seeking non-emergent care in an ED setting. Through continued growth of telemedicine, patients can receive advice as well as definitive care in certain clinical scenarios away from the hospital/ED setting. Digital health will continue to create more connections for patients to the healthcare ecosystem thus lessening the burden on traditional in-person care.
Scott Blanchard. Director of Digital Patient Experience at Rush University System for Health (Chicago): I think keeping tight control of your organization’s digital strategy will be critical to success. We’re seeing a proliferation of technology offerings that, if not contained, could easily lead to a disjointed patient experience. For example, take chatbots. More and more vendors, including Epic, are offering chatbots with varying levels of capabilities. Having a dedicated decision-making team with clear guiding principles will avoid the typical traps where you have three technologies in the organization doing largely the same thing.
Shannon Cameron, MD. Chief Operating Officer, Revenue Cycle at Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians (Boston, Mass.): In the coming year, predictive analytics will likely play a big role in the transformation of healthcare organizations by leveraging data to anticipate outcomes and improve decision-making across many areas of healthcare.
For example, by identifying patients at risk for specific conditions, it can enable early intervention and personalized treatment plans, which can enhance patient outcomes and minimize complications. I also see predictive analytics contributing to the streamlining of hospital operations by forecasting patient admissions and discharges, allowing for better management of staffing, bed availability, and resources, ultimately reducing wait times and improving care. Additionally, it has the ability to identify high-risk patients to prevent readmissions through proactive interventions and support. I also expect it to play a vital role in revenue cycle management by pinpointing billing trends, decreasing claim denials, and projecting financial performance.
Shekar Ramanathan. Executive Director, Digital Transformation at Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.): It’s almost cliché to say ‘AI’ will have the biggest impact on healthcare in the coming year, but we’re now seeing a next-level evolution with generative AI and agentic AI that genuinely changes the game. For years, we’ve collected mountains of data in EHRs and data lakes but struggled to translate those insights into meaningful impact - too often it’s added more burden to clinicians instead of relieving it.
These newer forms of AI go beyond basic automation. Generative AI can interpret and synthesize unstructured clinical notes in real time, streamlining documentation and surfacing critical insights, while agentic AI can automate entire processes, such as prior authorizations or remote patient monitoring, so clinicians can focus on direct patient care. The key is to start small and focus on the right problems. By approaching AI with precision and a clear vision, we can finally unleash the power of our data to improve outcomes, reduce burnout, and turn insights into real, transformative impact for patients.
Sheri Strobel. CIO at Chapters Health System (Temple Terrace, Fla.): Advancements in the digital workforce capabilities should have a big impact on healthcare organizations in the next year. As healthcare evolves, technology - EMRs, CPOE, many others were to reduce administrative tasks and allow caregivers to go back to delivering care.
The ratio of admin staff to clinician needs to get back to a lower percentage for several reasons 1) shortage of admin staff 2) increasing costs 3) time limitations of human staff 4) inability for human staff to keep up with advances in healthcare for knowledge on approvals, regulations, and others.
As technology leaders we should be held accountable for the quality and investment cost/benefits of digital workers as any other system in place.
Accountability for cost to deliver improved results on administrative costs should be the biggest trend – enabling a digital workforce.
Sitt Paing, MD. CIO at Pun Hlaing Hospitals (Yangon, Myanmar): I believe AI agents will have a big impact on healthcare operational and service delivery from automating patient contact to preparation of daily/monthly BI dashboard to virtual physician assistant.
I also hope to see innovative healthcare AI agent solutions that will be introduced by new and experienced startups to solve legacy issues that healthcare leaders were facing such as human resource shortage.
Stephen DelRossi. CEO at Northern Inyo Healthcare District (Bishop, Calif.): When looking twelve to twenty-four months ahead, I believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the most significant investment for improving operations. Over the past two years, AI has made remarkable strides by streamlining menial, non-value-added services and increasing accuracy. It has demonstrated substantial positive effects on non-clinical operations, including registration, authorizations, coding, billing, denial management, and cash posting, among others.
On the clinical side, we have observed significant improvements in diagnostic imaging, early disease identification and detection, and drug discovery. Although these developments are still in their early stages, they have already enhanced operations, and I anticipate further advancements in the coming year. This trend is expected to continue as providers and operators seek the most accurate presentation of facts, making AI the best solution.
As important as AI is in shaping the future of healthcare, the industry faces a significant challenge. It is well understood that the new administration is seeking to reduce spending on government-sponsored healthcare. Cuts to Medicare funding can have serious consequences across the industry. For hospitals like mine, where approximately seventy percent of patients rely on some form of government-provided healthcare, these reductions in reimbursements could potentially lead to the closure of our facility, devastating the Eastern Sierra community for hundreds of miles around.
For method-one billers—those utilizing Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) based payments—a large percentage of commercial contracts are structured as a percentage above or below Medicare rates. The profit margin in this area is low, and lowered reimbursements will create a cascading effect that will harm providers nationwide.
Sunil Dadlani. Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Transformation Officer, Chief Cyber Security Officer at Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.): Generative AI and agentic AI are set to transform healthcare organizations in the coming year, unlocking unprecedented opportunities to enhance outcomes, streamline operations, and empower both patients and providers. Organizations that embrace these technologies, foster AI literacy, and implement robust governance frameworks will not only gain a competitive advantage but also elevate their ability to serve communities effectively in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.
Toyosi Timi Olutade, MD. Chief Medical Officer at UnityPoint Health (West Des Moines, Iowa): In the next year, the adoption and proliferation of ambient AI for scribing could have the most significant impact on healthcare organizations. While many emerging technologies focus on optimizing efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing back-office functions, Ambient AI for scribing addresses a critical area: the well-being of care providers, including physicians, advanced practice providers, allied health professionals, and nurses.
The effective deployment of this technology across care settings has the potential to alleviate burnout among clinical team members. Imagine physicians finishing their workday without needing to complete charting over dinner or spending their weekends catching up on documentation. Consider the value of nurses and physicians spending more time directly engaging with patients rather than being tethered to keyboards and screens. Ambient AI for scribing represents a transformative opportunity to improve both provider satisfaction and patient-centered care.
Tres Leonard. CIO at Wabash General Hospital (Mount Carmel, Ill.): The emerging technology that's expected to have the biggest impact on healthcare organizations in the next year is AI.
AI is transforming the healthcare landscape by revolutionizing patient care, diagnostics, and operational workflows.
Its applications range from predictive analytics and personalized medicine to administrative automation(Scribe) and data analysis.
T. Y. Alvin Liu, M.D. Inaugural Director of the James P Gills Jr MD and Heather Gills Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore): The use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), specifically large language models (LLMs), in revenue cycle management (RCM), such as prior authorization (PA), will likely gain significant traction in the next year.
While LLMs can be applied in both clinical and operational contexts, I believe application of LLMs in RCM will be adopted quicker. This is because 1) RCM, as compared to clinical decision support, carries lower risks, if the AI algorithm were to make a mistake; 2) RCM is complex and a major pain point for all health systems; 3) Various steps in RCM, such as PA, involve highly-repetitive tasks that also require flexibility to handle exceptions, and the adaptability of LLMs are uniquely suited to tackle these challenges; and 4) Applying LLMs to solve RCM pain points, rather than clinical challenges, will likely be more straightforward in terms of demonstrating return on investments.
Zafar Chaudry, MD. Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer and Chief AI and Chief Information Officer at Seattle Children's: Generative AI is set to transform healthcare in the coming year. This technology can automate tasks, freeing up clinicians to focus on patients, personalize treatments for better outcomes, analyze data for improved diagnoses, and power virtual assistants for increased access to care. However, realizing this potential requires careful attention to ethical considerations, data privacy, and building trust with patients and providers.