Bursting budgets and overflowing technology don’t mix. Here’s what 67 respondents would prioritize with their investments.
The leaders featured in this article are speaking at Becker’s 10th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference. The conference will take place Sept. 30th – Oct. 3rd at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. If you’d like to be considered for a speaking spot, please reach out to rhaseman@beckershealthcare.com.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: If you could only invest in one emerging technology this year, what would it be and why?
Biju Samkutty. COO for International and Enterprise Automation at Mayo Clinic: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be AI-driven intelligent automation to improve patient access and triage. For example, AI-powered systems can analyze patient records, including medical history, test results and referral patterns, to prioritize cases based on urgency and direct patients to the most appropriate specialty or provider. At Mayo Clinic, integrating AI-driven automation into patient access workflows can help reduce bottlenecks, optimize provider schedules and ensure patients receive the right care at the right time. This investment enhances efficiency, improves care coordination and ultimately leads to better patient outcomes.
Richard Zane, MD. Chief Innovation Officer at UCHealth: In one word, ‘intelligence.’ We are laser focused on bringing actionable intelligence into workflows. From clinicians choosing pharmacotherapy at the bedside, recognizing deterioration, weaning a ventilator and monitoring wounds to operators smoothing ORs, managing capacity and discharge planning. Intelligence, be it machine learning, natural language processing, computational linguistics, prescriptive intelligence or generative AI, is not a single thing and relies on data. So, my answer is data AND intelligence.
Umberto Tachinardi, MD. Senior Vice President and Chief Health Digital Officer at UC Health: I would invest in expanding AI-powered ambient notes throughout the entire enterprise. We are currently piloting it, and the responses have been very positive.
Andrew Rosenberg, MD. CIO at Michigan Medicine: Relatively small, on-premise GPU server as part of a larger investment in various AI development platforms.
- In addition to our work with private cloud environments for vendor LLMs, we will be implementing a relatively small, focused in size and scope, on premise GPU cluster.
- Allows the organization to practice, explore and develop solutions using numerous foundation models (including both proprietary as well as open source).
- This is important to give a variety of environments and capabilities for local experts to ‘kick the tires’ of various models but also further develop skills such as with RAG.
- Outcome comparisons with large, expensive and possibly more robust models from vendors can also be compared with work we can perform locally, with open source and develop robust cost-effectiveness comparisons that will drive further avenues of investment.
- This also allows us to develop various monitoring, compliance, privacy and governance practices.
Matt Morton. Assistant Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at University of Chicago: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be artificial intelligence because its proper use will reduce workload and increase effectiveness. AI has the potential to automate repetitive tasks, allowing professionals to focus on more strategic and high-value work. As AI models continue to improve, they can enhance decision-making by providing deeper insights and predictive analytics. Industries across healthcare, cybersecurity and finance already see significant benefits from AI-driven solutions. Investing in AI now could lead to long-term competitive advantages and substantial efficiency gains.
J. Scott Smitherman. Associate Vice President, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Providence Clinical Network: We are all in on investing in ambient documentation in 2025. The current state is already magical, helping physicians and APCs reduce their documentation burden, be more productive, spend more time thinking about patients and go home earlier. But, the near future is incredibly bright as well as we expand upon what is possible with an AI agent listening to the patient / doctor conversation in real time: clinical decision support, ordering support, coding guidance, chart search and voice commands to name a few features. These are all things that were science fiction just a few years ago but will be helping us take care of patients and reducing clinician burnout in the next one to two years.
Chris DeFlitch, MD, FACEP, FAAEM. Vice President, Chief Medical Information Officer at Penn State Health as well as Professor at Penn State College of Medicine and Emergency Physician at Milton S Hershey Medical Center: Most would say AI and that’s a reasonable answer. However, while AI comes with focused and broad opportunities and challenges, the definition remains everchanging and somewhat amorphous. To be more specific, consider a personal digital health companion that supports and validates the individual’s health experience, not just healthcare visits…..guiding all things health and care, supported by AI and aligned to your trusted health advisor network (family, friends and healthcare system).
Lisa Stump, MS, FASHP. Chief Digital Information Officer and Dean of Information Technology at Mount Sinai Health System: It’s challenging to choose just one emerging technology because there are a few really compelling options. However, if I had to prioritize, agentic AI would be my top choice due to its versatility and transformative potential across multiple areas of healthcare, including call centers, system business offices and as virtual scribes for providers, nurses and other members of the care team turning conversation into documentation and coding. This technology also has the potential to enhance cybersecurity measures. We are thinking about our investments not just in terms of the implementation, but also in the assessment, adoption and ongoing monitoring to ensure the safety, efficiency and accuracy of these tools. By investing in agentic AI, we are not only addressing current challenges but also paving the way for future innovations with the aim of improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
Marc Perkins-Carrillo. Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Moffitt Cancer Center: If I could place my bets on a single emerging technology revolutionizing healthcare, it would undoubtedly be robotic automation in the clinical space. We’ve already witnessed the transformative power of bots streamlining revenue cycle and business operations, and it’s time to extend that efficiency to the bedside. Imagine nurses, freed from repetitive tasks like medication second nurse witness or patient deterioration monitoring, thanks to reliable robotic assistants. This would unlock invaluable time, empowering nurses to focus on complex patient care and critical thinking. By embracing robotic automation, we can truly enable nurses to practice at the top of their license, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Lynnette Clinton. CIO at BayCare Health System: Organizations should be broadly investing in artificial intelligence capabilities to ensure their teams have the most efficient processes giving them more time for patient care or other important activities. At BayCare, we are taking a multi-pronged approach to infusing AI in a variety of clinical and administrative areas.
Keith Woeltje. Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin: If I had to pick just one, it would be AI – we’re expanding our current use of ambient transcription technology and imaging AI, as well as implementing new AI products into our workflows. There is enormous interest in AI products from our clinical and operational leaders. We’ve implemented what I think is fairly robust governance to ensure that we’re focusing on priority areas likely to yield real improvements and not just chasing shiny objects.
Roberta Schwartz, PhD. Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Houston Methodist: There is much focus on agentic AI in 2025, and this field is quickly emerging to aid in expansions of the workforce in a speedy fashion. At Houston Methodist, we are involved in a few agentic AI programs and look forward to further expanding. We also are thrilled to see the maturation of voice-over-text as a means for gathering health provider documentation. Providing options to free our providers from the keyboard is incredible, and we look forward to seeing this expand beyond physicians to larger sections of the workforce in 2025 and beyond.
Rachel Feinman. Vice President of Innovation at Tampa General Hospital: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year it would be seamless and scalable AI-powered care navigation for all of our patients. As a system, we highly value care coordination and aiding our patients in navigating a frictionless care journey. While we invest in care navigators and other solutions to assist in achieving this mission, we know that AI will play a critical role in making sure we can serve all of our patients and to do so at the necessary scale. Through TGH Ventures, our venture capital and innovation arm, we have invested in Reimagine Care, which allows us to provide care to our oncology patients beyond the walls of our clinics and infusion centers. Leveraging AI, we can reduce unneeded ER visits and provide an enhanced patient experience. Ultimately, we want to leverage similar tech-enabled care for all of our patients.
Heather O’Sullivan, APRN. President and COO for Healthcare at Home at Mass General Brigham as well as Professor at Mass General Hospital Institute of Health Professions: Home Hospital is revolutionizing acute care by providing hospital-level services directly in patients’ homes. This transformation is enabled by technological advancements that empower patients, improve outcomes and support healthcare providers. One of the most innovative technologies driving the home hospital care delivery model is mobile diagnostics, including portable X-rays, lab tests and ultrasounds, which enable us to provide responsive solutions across the continuum of home-based care. This portability, along with advancements in telehealth, remote monitoring and artificial intelligence is pushing forward the healthcare model of the future.
Robert Poznanovich. Chief Growth Officer at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: I would invest in AI technology for our contact center to help our patient and family care agents better serve our calls by utilizing the technology to:
- Provide real-time coaching, key messaging and actionable feedback
- Created AI generated call summaries to improve active listening and efficiencies
- Call grading that measures agent engagement and performance
- Monitoring of compliance and quality
Ed Moore. President at Harrington Hospital as part of UMass Memorial Health: I would invest in remote patient monitoring focused on high risk patients such as CHF discharges to effectively reduce readmissions and improve quality of life for the patients. These patients are more likely to have ER visits and readmissions that are avoidable if they are monitored more frequently in between doctor office visits. It is also applicable to chronic care patients in primary care offices whereby nurses and health coaches continually monitor the data and communicate with the primary care provider as needed.
Tres Leonard. CIO at Wabash General Hospital: If I had to invest in just one technology, it would be AI deployment and NLP. I’d put my efforts into natural language processing. Why NLP? Versatility: NLP has a wide range of applications, including:
- Virtual assistants (e.g., Siri, Alexa)
- Sentiment analysis and opinion mining
- Ambient listening and text summarization and generation
- Language translation
Rajiv Pramanik, MD. CIO and Chief Health Informatics Officer at Contra Costa Health: Being in the safety net, we are investing in our infrastructure and eradicating the plagues of technical debt. It will provide us the building blocks to allow our operational leaders to make important strategic decisions.
Kerri Webster, MS, RN, CPHIMS. Vice President and Chief Analytics Officer at Children’s Hospital Colorado: In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, one emerging domain that stands out as the most promising to me is AI. As we venture deeper into the digital era, AI continues to pave the way for groundbreaking advancements across our industry. It makes a compelling choice to realize transformative impact. The exponential growth of AI – encompassing machine learning, NLP, deep learning, gen AI and agentification – is reshaping the norms of efficiency, productivity and innovation. I see that AI is a way to be a force multiplier in many aspects of the healthcare ecosystem from clinical, security, revenue cycle and IT. However, it is imperative that there is a match between the problem and technology – not implementation for implementation sake. Said another way, this innovative technology must also come with innovative thinking – transformational change doesn’t happen by using advanced technology on broken processes. It is also worth mentioning that any investment in AI technology comes with discussions about workforce reskilling and the impact to people. The key to success for the investment is not only financial but also human resources.
Deepti Pandita, MD, FACP, FAMIA. Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Vice President, Clinical Informatics and Associate Professor of Medicine at University of California Irvine Health: One of the biggest pain points in healthcare is administrative burden on clinical care teams. If I could invest in only one emerging technology in healthcare this year, it would be ambient AI-powered clinical documentation—specifically, AI-driven documentation alleviates cognitive overload, letting providers focus on patient care instead of typing notes. This improved work-life balance can enhance retention and recruitment of healthcare professionals.
J.D. Whitlock. CIO at Dayton Children’s Hospital: If we could only invest in one new technology this year, it would definitely be ambient AI digital scribes. There are a handful of solid vendors in this space with deep EMR integrations available this year for the first time – Abridge, Nabla, Ambience, Microsoft and Suki. Ambient AI scribes are so popular with (most) providers that health systems risk provider recruitment problems within the next couple years if they are not deploying these tools.
Nabil Chehade, MD. Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Transformation, Innovation and Strategy Officer at MetroHealth System: AI and ambient listening in healthcare can revolutionize how care is delivered by streamlining clinical workflows, elevating documentation quality and offering personalized, patient-focused care. Patients will receive faster, more accurate care leading to better health outcomes while providers will spend more time on patient care rather than administrative tasks. This not only enhances patient satisfaction but also boosts provider morale, ultimately improving the healthcare experience for both providers and patients.
Pooja P. Vyas, DO, MBA. Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Christian Hospital as part of BJC Health System: As a chief medical officer of an underserved community, investing in telemedicine platforms with AI-powered diagnostics would have the greatest impact. Telemedicine improves access to care, especially in remote areas, while AI supports early detection and real-time diagnostic insights. This technology enhances care quality by assisting with triage and decision-making, even in areas with limited healthcare professionals. It’s also scalable, allowing for broader reach without significant infrastructure costs. Additionally, it helps manage chronic diseases efficiently, reducing hospital visits and improving long-term health outcomes.
James J. Matera, DO, FACOI, ACPE. Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at CentraState Medical Center: With the ever-present issues surrounding physician burnout and disengagement, I feel that reduction of the in-basket and encounter workload will truly help this. Engaging AI and technology to limit in-basket messaging and working with a functional ambient voice environment will give the physician back precious time needed for practitioner-patient relationships. Disengagement is one of the biggest threats I see to medical practice in the near future. It’s time to bring the joy and satisfaction back to the care of our patients.
Jeanne Sands. CIO at Summit Behavioral Healthcare: The game changing emerging technology that I am investing in for 2025 is AI. We are using AI within our organization to increase clinician and staff productivity. Using tools like Microsoft Nuance Copilot Ambient Dictation for clinician documentation alongside Microsoft Copilot for leaders to decrease administrative burden. We are also focusing on back-office functions and areas where we can use AI to simplify, scale and reduce costs. Areas like our contact center where AI creates conversation summaries with sentiment analysis or revenue cycle where AI can automate our payer interactions.
Zafar Chaudry, MD, MS, MIS, MBA, CITP. Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer and Chief AI and Information Officer at Seattle Children’s: If healthcare had to prioritize a single emerging technology investment this year, it should focus on AI, particularly in diagnostic and predictive applications, due to its potential for immediate and widespread impact; AI’s ability to analyze vast medical datasets enables faster, more accurate diagnoses, predicts patient risks for proactive intervention, streamlines administrative processes and facilitates personalized medicine, ultimately promising to improve patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency on a large scale while requiring careful attention to data privacy and ethical implementation.
Patrick McDermott. Vice President, Revenue Cycle and Interim Revenue Cycle Leader at Lawrence General Hospital: As a revenue cycle leader and constant reengineer, selecting one automation investment is very tough, but very necessary to prioritize monetary capital and human capital – both which are scarce resources in the hospital. I vote for software which automates and cuts the number of human touches with better workflow automation and is predictive in its AI to make intelligent decisions on how to prioritize and assign work based on a value prediction.
Short answer: intelligently predictive workflow software.
Judd Hollander, MD. Senior Vice President, Healthcare Delivery Innovation at Thomas Jefferson University Health: We naturally want the right care for the right person at the right time. We need something similar for our colleagues in administration. We need the right meetings with the right people in the right location. For administrative leaders in large systems or who remain exclusively remote, the new ideas generated around the coffee pot or water cooler have been lost. The best ideas often come from side-bar conversations, which don’t exist when meetings are all remote. So…maybe what we need is more good coffee makers!
Khalid Turk. Chief Healthcare Information Officer at Santa Clara Valley Healthcare: If I could invest in only one emerging technology this year, it would be AI-driven automation in healthcare, particularly generative AI for clinical documentation and administrative workflows. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce physician burnout, streamline operations and cut costs by automating tedious tasks like note-taking, prior authorizations and RCM. With increasing regulatory demands and the push for value-based care, AI automation not only enhances efficiency but also generates valuable structured data for predictive insights. Investing in this now ensures long-term scalability, compliance and a competitive edge in healthcare innovation.
Rachel Dallman. Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations at Phelps Memorial Health Center: If I could only invest in one emerging technology in healthcare this year, it would be AI for optimizing the revenue cycle. AI has the potential to revolutionize the way healthcare organizations manage billing, claims processing and reimbursement by automating manual tasks, identifying coding errors and predicting claim denials. By integrating AI into the revenue cycle, healthcare providers can streamline administrative workflows, reduce human error and improve cash flow management. Additionally, AI can analyze historical data to predict and prevent revenue disruptions, allowing healthcare organizations to make more informed financial decisions. The ability to enhance efficiency and accuracy in RCM can significantly reduce operational costs and improve overall financial performance in the healthcare sector.
Yasir Tarabichi, MD, MSCR. Chief Health AI Officer at MetroHealth System: Through the CHAIO lens, if I could make one strategic investment this year, it would be moving our data ecosystem to our EHR vendor’s cloud platform. This would accelerate our existing core data and vendor investments, simplify our architecture and bring the full power of the Azure environment within reach. We could scale analytics enterprise-wide without costly on-prem hardware while unlocking seamless access to Azure’s AI and machine learning tools. Transitioning to the cloud sets the foundation for advanced (near) real-time analytics, stronger interoperability and higher system performance as we expand our data-driven initiatives.
Duane Perry, BSN, RN. Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at OhioHealth: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be the expansion of virtual capabilities for nurses and providers in healthcare.
With ongoing workforce shortages and the increasing demand for specialized care, healthcare systems must adopt innovative solutions to support clinicians across large geographic areas. Virtual technologies—such as remote patient monitoring, virtual nursing and clinician support, and AI-assisted decision support—can help bridge staffing gaps, reduce burnout and improve patient outcomes. These tools allow experienced clinicians to provide guidance, oversee care and support frontline clinical staff in real-time, regardless of location.
Garrett Olin, MBA. CIO at Shasta Community Health Center: The technology I would invest in this year would be AI. There are so many ways that AI could help us in providing healthcare, efficiencies, improvements, reducing burn-out and reducing overall costs. We could also improve outcomes and quality of life. It touches so many areas like access, engagement, pop health, coding, medications, orders, notes, care guidelines and so much more.
Christopher G. Maloney, MD, PhD. Executive Vice President, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, and Physician-in-Chief at Children’s Nebraska as well as Professor of Department of Pediatrics at University of Nebraska Medical Center: I would invest in an end-to-end computerized decision support system for the point-of-care. In the inpatient setting, clinicians deal with hundreds of unique data points daily, especially in critical care areas. They are trained to identify patterns in data and react to meet the needs of patients.
Almost real-time data feeds from monitors, pumps, labs, medications and ventilators can be fed through an electronic rules engine incorporating large language models to alert the clinician about both deterioration and improvement so an intervention can be implemented to prevent further deterioration or hasten the reduction of support to move a patient through their hospitalization.
For example, a patient recovering from sepsis can have their clinician alerted to reduce vasopressor support based on hemodynamic properties. Similarly, alerts to decrease ventilatory support can occur using monitor data, laboratory results, medications and ventilator settings.
Kendra Calhoun. Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Digital Experience at Avera Health: If I could only invest in one emerging marketing technology for healthcare this year, it would be AI-powered personalization platforms. These platforms use data and machine learning to create highly personalized patient experiences, enhancing engagement and satisfaction. By delivering targeted content, recommendations and communications based on individual preferences and behavior, we can improve patient loyalty and engagement outcomes. AI can also help optimize our marketing campaigns in real-time, ensuring we’re reaching the right audience with the right message. Given the increasing demand for tailored healthcare experiences, this technology offers immense potential to drive patient loyalty and build stronger relationships. It will also help us stand out in a competitive healthcare landscape.
Shelly Nash, DO, FACOOG. Senior Vice President and Global Chief Medical Information Officer at Fresenius Medical Care: The hot topic of this year is AI. You cannot go to any medical technology conference or IT vendor Users’ Group and not hear about this. Every healthcare organization, medtech company and pharma company are evaluating how they will use AI, where (in what systems of processes) they will use it, and how they can ensure it is safe, unbiased and not leading to discriminatory or unjust care. Knowing this is the emerging technology not just of the year but the decade, if I could only invest in one emerging technology it would be applications or tools to catalogue, monitor and evaluate the AI we have in place at our organization. AI models are allowing us to advance predictive models and identify issues even before they occur. But we must be vigilant in ensuring we have this continuous monitoring loop to evaluate outcomes whether that be efficiency or financial outcomes of clinical outcomes.
Priya Kumar, MD. Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Self Regional Healthcare: If I could invest in one emerging healthcare technology this year, it would be predictive analytics. With the increasing availability of big data and AI-driven algorithms, predictive analytics is transforming healthcare by forecasting disease progression, optimizing hospital resource allocation and personalizing treatment plans. One of its most impactful applications is the early identification of patient deterioration in hospitals, allowing clinicians to intervene sooner and prevent complications. Ultimately, this technology has the potential to reduce hospital readmissions, enhance early diagnosis and improve patient outcomes—especially in high-cost areas like chronic disease management and emergency care. As healthcare systems face mounting pressures from staffing shortages and financial constraints, predictive analytics offers a scalable solution to enhance efficiency and patient care. Its growing adoption across hospitals and insurers makes it a promising investment with both clinical and financial impact.
Prasana Ruxmohan, MHA. Ambulatory Operations Transformation Specialist at UCI Health: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be AI-driven automation in patient access and healthcare operations. With ongoing workforce shortages and increasing patient demand, AI-powered scheduling, predictive overbooking, and automated outreach can significantly improve efficiency without adding staff. Tools like Microsoft Power Automate can further streamline workflows by integrating AI-driven automation into existing EHR systems, reducing manual tasks and administrative burdens. This technology aligns with value-based care initiatives by reducing delays, optimizing provider schedules, and enhancing patient experience. As health systems look for cost-effective ways to improve access, AI-driven automation offers an immediate return on investment while laying the foundation for long-term digital transformation.
Kris Seymour. Director for Transformation and Project Management Operations at WellStar Health System: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be gamification—especially in the revenue cycle. Billing doesn’t start when the patient gets the bill; it starts before they ever step foot in a building. When the ‘cycle’ breaks down, it’s a drain on time, resources and patient trust.
Our phones are with us all the time—why not leverage that differently in healthcare? A healthcare app could use gamified checklists where patients earn badges or unlock achievement levels for completing pre-arrival tasks like insurance verification or submitting financial assistance documents. Imagine earning a ‘Peace of Mind’ badge for completing a financial assistance application—turning a stressful process into a rewarding experience. Gamification could make the process smoother, improve compliance and enhance the overall patient experience.
Lindsey Knake, MD, MS. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Neonatology Division and Associate Chief Health Information Officer, Pediatrics at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital: Ambient AI as I think once physicians get used to using this tool, it will significantly improve the time required to write notes and the work/life balance of clinicians.
Paul Lukac, MD, MBA, MS. Director for Applied Artificial Intelligence and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA Health: I’m going to give two answers, as I view one as a good investment with immediate return, and the other as a good (and potentially transformative) investment in the long term. Short term, I am a huge believer in the potential of AI scribes to address and alleviate a growing challenge – physician burnout. Results of an AI scribe pilot we ran at UCLA Health validate my belief in its potential, with many of our physicians emphasizing how transformative the technology has been to their well-being and how it restores their ability to focus on their patients. Long term, as a former cancer patient, I am incredibly excited about the potential of pairing Alpha Fold (AI protein modeling) with LLMs to suggest new therapeutic uses for existing drugs and to even create completely novel drugs. Our treatment options for many cancers, though improving, remain limited. With glioblastoma multiforme, for example, there has not been a new medication approved in over two decades.
Ben Wolfe. Director for Digital Transformation at Rush University System for Health: One of the most challenging aspects of healthcare is that there is just so much complexity – from finding and accessing the right care, to managing your conditions and medications, to understanding and paying your bill – and it can feel like a maze of people to call, websites to visit, apps to navigate. At Rush, we are focused on building a digital experience that is uniquely simple, convenient and personalized for our patients. As part of this commitment, I believe emerging tools like agentic AI will play an important role in giving patients a convenient place to go to ask questions , get answers, and get connected to the right person or service to solve their particular problem quickly and with less guesswork.
Kaitlyn Torrence. Executive Director at MUSC Health Solutions: I would focus on creating smart hospitals and clinics by investing in hardware. While we continue to see shifts toward home-based care delivery and virtual models of care, we need to enhance the care that will always be delivered in our facilities and enable our ever-shrinking staff with smart technology. Many health systems have made large investments in software but have forgotten about the necessary investments in the hardware that bring software to life! The integrations across the multitude of software vendors and hardware is paramount to a connected care experience. This smart hardware includes: TVs and cameras in patient rooms, BYOD (bring your own device) capabilities and empowering all clinical care team members with iPhones.
Chrisanne Timpe, MD. Medical Director of Home Based Medicine and In-Home Complex Care at HealthPartners Park Nicollet: If I could invest in one emerging technology, it would be a truly reliable wearable device, designed specifically for acute illness management that can collect vital signs and provide continuous cardiac monitoring. This device would need to be affordable to healthcare systems and also accessible and simple to use by all patients.
Isil Arican. Executive Director for Clinical Applications and Technology at Stanford Health Care: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be a next-generation AI-enabled EHR ecosystem to take clinical trial integration to the next level.
AI-powered trial matching can scan structured and unstructured data—clinical notes, genomics and imaging—to proactively identify eligible patients in real time, both for trial recruitment and at the point of care, improving efficiency and diversity. AI-driven workflows can streamline regulatory documentation, protocol adherence and trial initiation, significantly reducing administrative burden. Real-world data integration and predictive analytics enable adaptive trial designs and continuous learning, helping refine protocols and improve patient outcomes.
Today, EHRs and research systems often operate in parallel silos, requiring manual effort to bridge clinical care and trial enrollment. Investing in this next-generation AI-enabled EHR ecosystem would create a seamless, data-driven approach to integrating research within clinical workflows, accelerating innovation and expanding access to cutting-edge treatments.
Al Alsadi, MD. Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at UWHealth: Robotic transportation and deliveries of business supplies in the mainstream clinical spaces. This is a trend I see being planned and road-mapped in many institutions, due to the staff shortages and the need for workforce redesign in the current challenging healthcare environment. I am referencing applications such as robotic transportation and delivery of pharmacy medications, laboratory specimens, nutrition and culinary services, telemetry and other equipment in nursing, supply chain items such as PPEs and linen, and EVS. Usually applied via robotic carts and/or humanoid robots with underlying technologies varying from guided mobility all the way to advanced computer vision.
Most institutions are focused on AI initiatives to automate clinical providers and clinical staff mental tasks such as textual-based communications (e.g. AI generated/augmented patient portal responses) and high order mental tasks (e.g. abstraction and summation with ambient listening). Understood and justifiable, nonetheless, automating a task that occupies major bandwidth for the clinical staff – that is the task of ambulating from point A to point B while carrying a business supply is extremely impactful and deserves more attention. I believe this topic is underrepresented in publicity due to factors related to where each technology falls on the hype cycle but also could be due to most automation initiatives being led more by operational leaders who might not be as spoken out as the clinical leaders in executive roles (in their highlighting of the current AI topics).
James McElligott, MD. Executive Medical Director for the Center of Telehealth at MUSC Health: If I could invest in one technology right now, it would be virtual nursing support technologies. If pressed, I would focus on the inpatient setting as that area is growing so quickly that I feel it will become near standard of care for many institutions within the next couple of years. If allowed, I would extend the investment to the technologies that support nursing workflows in the ambulatory and population health setting (video visit triage, screeners, remote physiologic monitoring, etc.). This includes communication and AI technologies. It is the time of nursing innovation, and high time at that!
Samuel Pueringer, MHA. Senior Director, Retail Health Operations at Hartford HealthCare: Ambient AI scribe technology. As documentation becomes increasingly burdensome, patient loyalty becomes ever more important, and access to specialists can be a challenge – ambient AI transcription services is a technology solution that can help organizations round out improvements in experience, access and operational optimization. Results from usage of this technology have already shown improved interactions, above par documentation and efficiencies achieved in the clinical team’s day-to-day.
Girish N. Nadkarni, MD. Chair for the Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health and Director for the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Icahn School of Medicine: If I could only invest in one emerging technology in the realm of AI agents, I would choose autonomous AI agents. These systems leverage advances in natural language processing, machine learning and decision-making to perform complex, independent tasks across industries. Their ability to learn, adapt and collaborate with humans makes them ideal for streamlining operations and innovating new business solutions. With growing integration into areas such as customer support, data analysis and operational management, autonomous AI agents are set to deliver significant, long-term value.
Eric Snyder. Executive Director for Technology and Innovation at University of Rochester Medical Center – Wilmot Cancer Institute: Quantum Computing. While many might choose AI, nearly every new system today already integrates AI, making additional investment less critical. In contrast, quantum computing presents an opportunity for additional groundbreaking advancements that remain largely untapped. Quantum computing is still in its early stages with vast potential that has yet to be fully explored. In healthcare technology, it could revolutionize drug discovery, optimize complex treatment plans and enhance predictive modeling for diseases, ultimately improving patient outcomes and medical research efficiency. Now, consider what AI and quantum computing could achieve together, unlocking new levels of computational power and problem-solving capabilities. We are looking at the next frontier of innovation.
Hiral Patel. System Director for Innovation Activation and Enablement and Co-Chair of the DE&I Committee at Endeavor Health: If I could only invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be ambient AI for clinical documentation and beyond. The most promising solutions in this space are evolving into long-term platform technologies, starting with reducing clinician burden but expanding into voice-based disease detection, mental health screening and even integrating this solution into video-based technology for passive vitals monitoring and leveraging video language models to further assist in documentation. A strong roadmap in this space means not just improving documentation but transforming how we gather and act on real-time patient insights, ultimately enhancing both clinical efficiency and outcomes. Investing in a solution with this trajectory ensures a scalable, multi-use AI platform that will continue to drive innovation across healthcare.
Angelica Cage, MBA, BSN, RN, CCDS, CCS, CDIP, CRCR. Director for Clinical Documentation Integrity at Tufts Medicine: If I could invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be SmarterDx, especially with the new addition of their SmarterDenials tool. SmarterDx is clinical AI that finds the differential diagnosis by analyzing 100% of charts to close your hospital’s revenue integrity gap and improve quality metrics. With the robust and increased payer denials, hospitals struggle to keep up with the volume and the timelines. The administrative burden to fight denials has been apparent for years without many solutions to overcome the challenge. Not only does SmarterDenials reduce the time required to write appeal letters, but it also leverages clinical AI analysis which would help to increase the volume of denials reviewed, allowing hospitals to tackle denials that are often overlooked or deprioritized due to lower dollar amounts.
Anjali Bhagra, MD, MBA. Medical Director for Automation at Mayo Clinic: The emerging technology that we would like to thoroughly evaluate and invest in this year is agentic automation—AI-driven, autonomous systems that work alongside healthcare teams with humans in the loop to enhance patient care, streamline workflows, eliminate friction and improve decision-making.
Reasoning agents deployed with a human-centered approach have the exponential potential to reduce administrative burden by intelligently adapting to real-time data, allowing clinicians to focus on high-value patient interactions. At Mayo Clinic, we are committed to integrating transformative tools as a game-changer in healthcare delivery and experience, empowering both patients and providers with intelligent, proactive support.
Nirmit D. Kothari, MD, MPH. Associate Chief Medical Officer at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis: The most compelling emerging technology that has garnered my attention is the advanced capabilities of AI and machine learning, particularly generative AI, large language models and more sophisticated predictive analytics tools. With the widespread adoption of EMRs, RCM programs, and staffing software, healthcare organizations now possess a substantial amount of data spanning various operational domains (e.g., patient volume, staffing, coding, quality, etc.). Strong predictive analytics models will not only facilitate enhanced patient outcomes (e.g., early sepsis identification, patient trial matching, improved resource allocation, etc.) but will also help significantly improve operational efficiency (e.g., patient flow management, capacity optimization and staffing adjustments). The LLMs and generative AI capabilities of advanced machine learning will continue to augment healthcare providers’ efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and serving as a pivotal tool for improving clinical documentation without imposing excessive burdens on the providers.
Novella W. Thompson, MBA, MA, ALM-C, FACHE. Hospital Administrator for Population Health, Post-Acute Care and Continuum Home Health at UVA Health University Medical Center: I would invest in AI-driven clinical decision support systems. This technology offers many benefits including reducing clinicians’ cognitive burden and improving efficiency across multiple care systems. Its ROI and scalability are impressive. Beyond enhanced diagnostic accuracy, predicting deterioration and reducing adverse events, AI-driven decision support is thought to be impactful in post-acute settings to optimize the length of stay, reduce readmissions and improve care transitions.
John W. Gachago, BSBA, MS, CHTS-IM, DHA. Executive Director for the Institute of Telehealth and Digital Innovation at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center: AI can revolutionize healthcare access in rural areas like west Texas by enhancing telehealth services, remote patient monitoring, AI-assisted diagnostics and predictive analytics. AI-powered virtual consultations and chatbots improve accessibility for patients facing long travel distances while wearables and IoT devices enable real-time monitoring of chronic conditions. AI-driven clinical decision support systems assist rural providers with accurate diagnostics, and mobile health units equipped with AI optimize care delivery. Additionally, AI enhances mental health services through telepsychiatry and chatbots, improves medication management via e-prescriptions and automated reminders, and supports population health initiatives by identifying at-risk communities. However, broadband limitations, provider resistance and data security concerns pose challenges that require investment in 5G infrastructure, AI literacy programs and regulatory frameworks. By strategically implementing AI, rural healthcare systems can bridge care gaps, reduce disparities and improve health outcomes for underserved communities.
Joshua Tarkoff, MD, MBA/ Physician and IT Director at Nicklaus Children’s Health System: I’d invest in an emerging technology that addresses today’s physician shortages and burnout by creating ‘keyboardless and mouseless’ workflows through advanced voice control. Building on existing voice recognition tools, this technology could enable doctors to manage electronic health records hands-free, saving time and likely reducing burnout. Patients would also find it valuable and engaging to see their information—like images and lab trends—displayed on large screens alongside their doctor during visits. Even better, pairing this with AI agents that learn clinicians’ preferences and proactively present critical patient data, such as lab results or imaging, tailored to individual needs could truly boost clinician well-being and transform care delivery.
Ron Carson. Executive Director, Enterprise Applications at Nebraska Medicine: Ambient documentation for nurses. The nursing workforce is the front door and catchall to everything that happens with the patient. They are the core of the experience at the hospital and the same staff members which also ensure compliance, regulatory and accreditation requirements are captured in documentation. Many nurses entered the profession to care for and comfort sick patients. They should not be locked into capturing all documentation requirements for the health system. Their documentation is due for an overhaul with AI-enabled tools to automate and simplify the process.
Jason H. Cherry, MBA. Executive Director for IS Technology Services at Lexington Medical Center: I would pick AI as the emerging technology if I could only invest in one. I know that there are many nuances to AI, but it would give our organization the most flexibility. At an IT level, AI would allow us to invest in tools to reduce errors that cause outages and speed up time to issue resolution. At Lexington Medical Center, we are using AI to improve the clinician experience and increase the interaction with patients with Gen AI for clinical conversations. I envision LexMed eventually using AI to also improve the patient experience with advanced wayfinding and chatbots to quickly answer questions.
Tami McMasters Gomez. Director of Coding and CDI Programs at UC Davis Medical Center: I would look to invest in end-to-end automation in the revenue cycle:
- Patient access (registration, authorization)
- Mid revenue cycle (autonomous coding and denials management)
- Automations on the back end with billing and claims processes
- Use AI and bots to engage with 3rd party payors that can help with redundancies and help with efficiencies
Lastly, look for ways to ensure there is no revenue leakage, using technology, AI and automations in revenue integrity.
Darlene Vendittelli, MSM. Director of Digital Revenue Management at Southcoast Health: If I could only invest in one emerging technology this year, it would be advanced ambient computing technology. Adoption of the latest AI-driven ambient technology opens opportunities for automation and efficiency in the healthcare setting. This technology is multifaceted and can support clinicians in streamlining clinical note generation along with assisting in selecting the correct coding for billing and supporting patient appointment scheduling. Overall, this technology can help us to work smarter and gain efficiencies that can optimize our revenue, making it a valuable asset.
Ally Schroepfer, MSN, RN, NI-BC, CPN. Nursing Informatics Practitioner Advanced at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago: If I could invest in one emerging technology, it would be AI-assisted documentation and decision support tools. Clinicians should spend their time providing patient care, not tied to a computer. AI-driven tools can reduce documentation burden and enhance decision making through real-time alerts and predictive insights. Additionally, AI can support personalized care by creating individualized plans and identifying patient-specific risks. Investing in this technology would improve efficiency, patient outcomes and overall clinician well-being.
Carol Yarbrough, MBA, CPC, OCS, CHC. Telehealth Business Operations Manager at UCSF Health System: AI is great and technology is great, but health systems still need the FTE to monitor responses and systems, and present a smile to anxious patients. The best technology I wish we all would invest more in is meat computers (otherwise known as people).
Racheal Hernandez, MAS, MPH. Lead Director for Operations at Rush University Medical Center: So many emerging technology opportunities for healthcare, but if I had to choose one, it is an AI assistant. Record and transcribe my meeting notes, use web-based Office to automate building presentations from an outline and turn on the function for emails to be written for you. Use the AI assistant to chip away at the little, time consuming tasks that take away from creativity or tasks that just are not getting done.
Bryan Sisk, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at Memorial Hermann Health System: AI-powered ambient in-room monitoring has the potential to be a game changer for both nurses and patients. While it already tracks real-time factors like temperature, noise, lighting and air quality, its applications go much further. This technology can detect early signs of patient distress, optimize healing environments, reduce the need for manual room checks and support infection control efforts.
By automating environmental monitoring, AI empowers nurses to focus on what matters most—delivering exceptional patient care.
Michael Knipple. Chief Information Security Officer at Summit BHC: When considering the one emerging technology I would invest in this year, I would have to say security AI chat bots. This innovative solution can be deployed via Microsoft Teams and offers proactive, 24/7 user security support within a large enterprise. These chat bots can provide instant answers to security-related questions, accelerate incident response during a security emergency and proactively remind employees of risky situations, such as sensitive data in emails or visiting malicious websites. By integrating these bots into daily operations, an enterprise can foster a culture of continuous learning and vigilance, ultimately strengthening our overall security posture.
