Health systems are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence into clinical and operational workflows. Their multi-million dollar investment strategy could make or break the organization. Executive leaders must strike the right balance of quick adoption, but not moving too quickly; selecting the right partners and building the right skillsets for the AI transformation.
“The billion-dollar question facing healthcare executives in 2025 is twofold: first, how rapidly and to what extent should we implement artificial intelligence solutions – and should we adopt vendor-driven models, develop internal capabilities or pursue hybrid approaches?” said Marschall Runge, MD, PhD, executive vice president of medical affairs at University of Michigan and CEO of Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. “The urgency is compounded by the need to ensure that any AI integration aligns seamlessly with existing infrastructure, particularly electronic medical records, such as Epic, and enterprise resource planning systems, to avoid further fragmentation.”
Mayo Clinic Platform is taking AI a step further. COO Maneesh Goyal is focused on turning innovation into real-world impact at scale, and at the point of care.
“The health tech space is overflowing with brilliant ideas,” he said. “But only a small fraction of these ideas actually make it into clinical workflows, impacts outcomes, and scales across healthcare systems,” said Mr. Goyal. “The real challenge is to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation. Turning breakthrough ideas into better patient care and better outcomes at scale is the billion-dollar challenge.”
Spending on IT is essential for future growth but not always easy. Health system executives are weighing potential regulatory changes, Medicaid cuts and expense increases related to tariffs in the short term as they develop their AI strategies. But even smaller hospitals with tight margins and few resources know technology is a must.
“Leaders must also understand how to leverage new technologies and AI to best serve patients while keeping costs low and value a top priority,” said Derek Goebel, CFO of Altru Health System in Grand Forks, N.D. “Capital investments to advance these new tools can be significant with little certainty to the long-term ROI but simply sitting on the sidelines can prove costly as well.”
Healthcare executives are feeling pressure to ensure they have rigorous oversight for adopting any digital and AI-driven technologies as well to avoid over-investment or public backlash, said Wayne Gillis, president and CEO of Christian Health Care Services in Gallup, N.M. The successful integrations need clear goals, managed expectations and aligned technology deployment with actual outcomes.
“How can healthcare executives design and implement effective leadership, cost management, workforce strategies and technology adoption to create sustainable, value-based care systems that improve patient outcomes while controlling escalating costs and navigating industry complexities?” said Mr. Gillis. “This question encapsulates the urgent need for aligned incentives, cost control especially in pharmacy, strategic workforce planning, careful AI integration and transformative leadership focused on long-term economic and health impacts.”
In addition to the financial concerns, CEOs are also carefully balancing the increased technology use with providing human-centric patient care.
“The advancement of AI offers tremendous opportunity for the healthcare industry, but it is important to remember that it will not replace the need for healthcare providers,” said Amit Rastogi, MD, president and CEO of Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center. “At Jupiter Medical Center, we continue to invest in cutting-edge technology to augment our world-class physicians.”
The hospital has invested in AI for stroke care and early detection and diagnosis of lung cancer, as well as robotic surgical technology with an AI platform. Because the technology enhanced the patient experience without replacing the relationship between clinician and patient, the hospital saw improved accuracy, outcomes and patient experience.
