New CIO report: Closing the gap between AI pilots and payoff
Many health systems have AI pilots running, but only 4% have scaled AI with measurable outcomes. This second annual CIO report, based on a survey and 1:1 interviews with more than 60 health system technology leaders, reveals what is driving that gap and what it takes to close it.
And the pressure to act has never been higher. Razor-thin margins, a worsening workforce crisis and sweeping cuts to federal healthcare funding mean the cost of waiting is no longer abstract — 94% of leaders surveyed say delays in operationalizing AI would put their organization at a competitive disadvantage, and 77% say even a one-to-two year delay would result in meaningful lost savings and efficiency gains.
The full report includes detailed findings on EHR dependency, agentic AI adoption, vendor consolidation strategies and five concrete recommendations for CIOs navigating these decisions in 2026.
Key learnings:
And the pressure to act has never been higher. Razor-thin margins, a worsening workforce crisis and sweeping cuts to federal healthcare funding mean the cost of waiting is no longer abstract — 94% of leaders surveyed say delays in operationalizing AI would put their organization at a competitive disadvantage, and 77% say even a one-to-two year delay would result in meaningful lost savings and efficiency gains.
The full report includes detailed findings on EHR dependency, agentic AI adoption, vendor consolidation strategies and five concrete recommendations for CIOs navigating these decisions in 2026.
Key learnings:
- The ROI measurement gap stalling AI scale, and why most leaders still struggle to quantify returns at all
- Why EHR dependency remains the top execution barrier and willingness to wait for EHR vendors has declined sharply
- Why automated care operations has moved from future consideration to mission-critical for more than 70% of leaders
- What health systems consolidating around platform partners are doing differently — and why so few have made the shift
Please fill out the form to download the whitepaper.