In looking to 2026, the main trend in healthcare is how AI and connected systems will continue to transform all aspects of operations, including workforce management and supply chains.
In a November Becker’s Healthcare webinar sponsored by Infor, Adam Luff, vice president of product solutions for payers and providers at Infor, moderated a discussion with three Infor experts about how AI is reshaping healthcare operations and important foundational elements to power this transformation. Panelists were:
- Melissa Amell, senior director, healthcare strategy supply chain
- Joerg Schwarz, senior director, healthcare interoperability solutions and strategy
- Kristin Shelley, director, industry and solution strategy, healthcare workforce management
Four key takeaways were:
- To cut through the AI hype, organizations must focus on the basic foundational elements. The hype surrounding AI can be overwhelming, but the reality is that AI will be transformative. The current excitement is causing healthcare organizations to be somewhat cautious in applying advanced technologies, because these technologies can impact patient care.
As a starting point for proceeding with AI and other advanced technologies, Ms. Amell advised that it’s important for organizations to understand where they are in terms of their technology and operational maturity, as well as their data and infrastructure.
The key foundational elements for AI are data that is clean, complete and high quality; good data governance; and validation of all processes that AI might touch. “Data is so important,” said Ms. Amell. “It is the lifeblood, not only of operations, but of enhanced AI and of your ability to take advantage of these advanced capabilities.” To access these capabilities, it is imperative that your organization is cloud-first.
- AI will make supply chains more proactive and resilient. In recent years, supply chains have been reactive in responding to major disruptions. In the future, leaders envision leveraging technology to make supply chains more intelligent, proactive, connected and resilient. This will involve connecting systems, such as the ERP, EMR and third-party systems, to share data.
AI will support this vision by enabling better forecasting, demand planning, predictive inventory management and automated procurement. AI and other advanced technologies will also improve visibility and transparency throughout the supply chain. “We will use technology to take steps out of the process and make people more productive in their jobs,” Ms. Amell said.
- AI provides opportunities to improve workforce management. Today, clinical staff are bogged down with administrative tasks. Healthcare leaders are looking for tools to unburden staff and help leaders make more intelligent decisions about scheduling and resource optimization, as well as to predict clinician burnout early.
AI that is embedded into workforce management tools can help in each of these areas. “AI tools will not replace jobs,” said Ms. Shelley. “They will unburdenstaff from menial tasks so people can redirect their time and attention back to patient care.” However, it will not be enough just to implement new technologies. To derive value, implementation must be accompanied by effective change management.
- Interoperability is necessary to bring AI to life. Mr. Schwarz sees as a major trend in 2026 an increased focus on interoperability. This trend is driven by the projected increase in value-based care where all participants need access to comprehensive real-time data, by the desire of payers and providers to engage in a real-time data exchange and by the need to supply data to the growing number of AI algorithms and solutions.
“Interoperability is literally at the center of everything,” Mr. Schwarz said. “We need to make sure we feed correct and complete data to these AI algorithms so they can give good clinical decision-support outcomes.”
Achieving interoperability starts with aggregating data from the EMR and other sources into a data repository and enabling data to flow seamlessly using methods such as API-to-API data exchanges. Once data is aggregated and is interoperable, it can be mined and care gaps can be identified so actions can be taken to close these gaps.
The hype surrounding AI in 2025 will be replaced in 2026 by real-world uses of AI in multiple areas of healthcare operations that generate value for the organization — from the supply chain to workforce management and more. To proceed on this journey, organizations need to assess their operational journey, their data and their infrastructure. They need to be cloud-first and focus on interoperability. With these areas of focus, organizations are likely to be in very different place a year from now.
To learn more about how AI and connected systems will reshape healthcare operations visit Infor.
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At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
