Health system CIOs are entering 2026 with a shared conviction: The industry’s next leap forward won’t come from adding more technology, but from scaling the right technology with discipline, governance and clearer returns for both clinicians and patients.
The year ahead, they told Becker’s, will be shaped by highly mature AI, new identity security models and a renewed focus on restoring the human connection in care.
Few leaders articulate that shift more clearly than Cherodeep Goswami, chief information and digital officer of Renton, Wash.-based Providence. He sees the coming year as a turning point for AI that can think across data types rather than in silos.
Mr. Goswami told Becker’s he is “excited and motivated by the possibilities of multimodal clinical AI,” a class of models that merges imaging, labs, vitals, provider notes, medications, genomics and even ambient audio into unified decision support.
He expects the technology to unlock gains in early detection, care coordination and clinical quality as advances in EHR integration and GPUs make adoption more feasible. Done well, he said, these tools “should lead to better early detection outcomes, less manual quality abstraction labor and should reduce administrative burden and strengthen clinical quality at scale.”
One system taking a different tack is CommonSpirit Health, the nation’s largest Catholic health system. CIO Daniel Barchi is steering a shift from proliferation to precision. After several years of rapid AI deployment, Mr. Barchi said the organization has more than 230 tools already live and is now focused on expanding the impact of the strongest performers.
Rather than chasing volume, Chicago-based CommonSpirit is developing orchestration platforms for clinical, imaging, operational and conversational AI. This move reflects the industry’s broader pivot toward governance and enterprise alignment.
“Our goal is not to continue the same rate of growth in terms of the number of AI tools,” he told Becker’s, “but to broaden the impact of each across our enterprise.”
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Chief Information and Technology Officer Neil Cowles is also emphasizing discipline, particularly in how AI integrates with the organization’s long-standing care and coverage model. Mr. Cowles said Kaiser’s imperatives are centered on making care “more accessible, seamless, and personalized,” while giving clinicians “frictionless tools and systems” that reduce documentation time and allow more focus on patient care.
“In 2026, we will remain focused on enriching the experiences of our members, doctors, nurses, and staff. Artificial intelligence is just one of many technologies that will help us improve health outcomes and care experiences for every member and equip our doctors and care teams with the best tools so they can spend more time focused on patients and delivering high-quality care,” he said.
Digital trust is front and center at NewYork-Presbyterian in New York City, where Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer John Frushour is preparing for a major shift in identity management. In 2026, the health system plans to introduce passwordless access, a move intended to reduce both friction and risk.
The change will allow clinicians to reach critical systems faster by removing authentication barriers that can delay care. Mr. Frushour told Becker’s the technology works by “continuously” verifying identity through biometric and behavioral patterns, all while upholding “the highest standards of patient safety.”
At AdventHealth, based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., CIO Duncan Grodack said the health system’s 2026 priorities are grounded in its commitment to whole-person care — including how caregivers feel at work.
Ambient clinical documentation, now rolling out across ambulatory, ED and inpatient settings, is aimed at reducing one of the biggest sources of frustration.
“We know our teams want to spend less time on clinical documentation and more time with their patients, which is why we’re working on tools that streamline administrative tasks and help them get back to what they actually love about healthcare,” Mr. Grodack told Becker’s.
That same principle is driving AdventHealth’s investment in smart room technology, which is set to be deployed across more than 13,000 rooms. The system is designed to keep patients informed and families connected, while also reducing coordination friction among staff.
The result, he said, is meaningful: “Our care teams are telling us how much joy and fulfillment is brought back into their work when tech removes friction and strengthens the human connection.”
Cleveland Clinic is also doubling down on ambient tools, but with an eye toward something bigger: a smarter, more intuitive EHR. CIO Sarah Hatchett said the health system’s early 2026 focus is on scaling generative AI-powered tools that reduce documentation burden and enhance clinical decision-making.
“Our ambient scribe tools have delivered outstanding results — reducing documentation burden and improving experience for both patients and clinicians,” Ms. Hatchett told Becker’s. “Now we’re scaling that success across more care settings, as well as exploring additional capabilities like chart chat, chart summarization, in-workflow insights and documentation improvement.”
The aim, she said, is to reduce cognitive load and elevate documentation quality while creating meaningful operational leverage.
“Our goal is simple: make the EHR smarter, more intuitive, and more supportive of clinical decision-making so caregivers can focus on what matters most — patient care,” she said.
Across these systems, the tone is unmistakable. After years of experimentation, health system CIOs are entering 2026 with a clarified mandate. They aim to deploy AI where it improves outcomes, secure the digital ecosystem more aggressively, and ensure that technology—whether ambient listening tools or invisible identity checks—lightens the load rather than adding to it.
CIOs say 2026 won’t just be about embracing digital tools. It will be the year they prove their worth at scale.
