Hospital and health system leaders expect strong gains from AI and other digital tools in 2026, Black Book Market Research reported.
Here are four things to know from the survey of 202 health system executives and 84 board members published in late November:
1. 88% of hospital leaders are planning or growing investments in AI and advanced analytics for clinical decision support, capacity oversight and revenue cycle management.
2. 89% anticipate meaningful improvements in patient access, care coordination or experience from digital health and AI in the next 18 to 24 months.
3. 94% report that their organizations are emphasizing IT projects with clear, short-term value for lowering clinical burden, streamlining workflows and boosting documentation quality.
4. Digital tool deployment priorities include AI for clinical decision support and risk stratification; predictive analytics for staffing, patient flow and bed management; virtual care, remote patient monitoring and hospital at home; and repetitive task automation.
