Tenet Healthcare CEO Saum Sutaria said the system’s investment in technology enabled the Dallas-based for-profit system to “more than offset the expected and unexpected headwinds that arose” in the first quarter of 2026.
Those efforts have increased back-office AI automation, which is improving productivity and consolidating third-party spending, Dr. Sutaria said on Tenet’s April 30 earnings call. Those efforts have “doubled or more” the productivity of Conifer’s analytics team.
“As we look forward, we are actively identifying and piloting agentic workflows to transform further business processes,” Dr. Sutaria said.
Tenet’s technology investments have included AI-related capabilities across its hospitals, physician practices and global business centers to “drive further efficiencies, most of which have been useful for supporting and extending the productivity metrics of our team.”
Dr. Sutaria said that while not every tool will work in a pilot phase, the system has established governance processes to quickly scale successful technologies and shut down ineffective ones.
“We have included third-party EMR-integrated solutions which will increase our clinician productivity, decrease administrative burden, and improve patient access through programs such as AmbientScribe, automated discharge summaries, and autonomous professional fee coding in various pilot programs,” he said.
Tenet reported an operating income of $1.3 billion (24.1% margin), up from $943 million (18.1% margin) in the first quarter of 2026. The system’s net income was $702 million, up from $406 million.
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