Harnessing AI and data: A roadmap to future-proofing healthcare
In healthcare, CIOs are finding that selecting a strategic approach to AI is not just an option — it’s a necessity to succeed.
As healthcare’s margins shrink and artificial intelligence technology evolves rapidly, healthcare leaders are beginning to lean on it to reduce unnecessary administration and waste.
A recent report underscores this momentum. A synopsis of findings indicates that nearly every healthcare leader polled (96 percent) recognizes AI's potential to provide a competitive advantage.
But it’s not just about deploying technology for the sake of technology — it's about distributing these tools with a strategy that ensures that they're driving better outcomes, reducing costs and preparing healthcare organizations for the future.
Many of the country’s most forward-thinking healthcare institutions have chief digital officers and chief information officers who are leading this charge. But achieving success with AI and data analytics doesn't happen in a vacuum. CIOs need a clear strategy built on a foundation of well-integrated systems and empowered teams. We need to look to CIOs who are leading the most successful and evolutionary implementations of electronic health record systems (EHRs) as models for ushering in the new age of AI.
CIOs need a strategic approach
The role of healthcare CIOs is changing rapidly, and they’re key players when it comes to driving technology investments and setting business strategy. Healthcare leaders view today’s CIOs as the hub of leadership around digital transformation and innovation.
This is why strategy is paramount. Even though most healthcare technology leaders recognize the importance of leveraging AI effectively, many still face barriers in making progress, such as a lack of skilled talent, and concerns around ethics and privacy. Healthcare CIOs must ensure they adopt AI for immediate wins and integrate it in ways that align with long-term organizational goals.
While there are many emerging case studies focused on AI’s application for short-term cost management (like automating record retrieval or enhancing computer-assisted coding), AI’s real power lies in transforming the care delivery experience, enabling providers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time connecting patients with the latest evidence-based care pathways.
Implemented effectively, the healthcare system of the future will be more frictionless, more efficient and more sustainable. As healthcare costs rise and regulations change, such a strategy can be the key to futureproofing business and healthcare operations.
Gaining an edge in value-based care
An organization must harness a lot of data to perform well in value-based care, which rewards providers for providing quality care and preventive care services. Scalable, agile AI and data analytics can optimize stale workflows, and with the right investments, a CIO can transform an entire organization.
By analyzing records from EHRs and other data, AI can identify patients at risk of chronic conditions or those likely to experience complications, driving targeted interventions. Diseases can be detected faster and treated with more effective care pathways.
With real-time access to millions of digital twins, clinical best practices and care protocols, AI can point teams toward the best and most cost-effective treatments with less guesswork.
Importantly, optimized care delivery enabled by AI can reduce duplicative services, improve patient health outcomes and enable more effective and affordable healthcare.
Healthier patients, better outcomes, reduced workloads
The ultimate goal of healthcare technology is to improve patient outcomes, and AI offers a path to achieving that.
By automating routine tasks, such as analyzing medical records or implementing patient copilots to manage transitions, follow-ups and scheduling, AI frees up time for clinicians to focus on what truly matters — delivering care.
In fact, the report previously cited shows that more than nine out of 10 IT decision-makers believe AI will empower healthcare teams to focus on meaningful clinical work, thus enabling patients to get better, more personalized care. For example, it can analyze complex histories of patients to recommend treatment plans or flag potential risks before cases become urgent and complex. These AI-driven insights enable proactive, preventive care rather than reactive treatments.
For CIOs, this means a significant reduction in the slow processes that often bog down IT departments. By automating data analysis, regulatory compliance checks and even assisting components of patient communication, AI reduces the manual workload for IT teams. This enables them to focus on higher-level tasks such as system integration and strategic planning. This AI efficiency means that organizations can do more intricate, meaningful work with the same staff and resources. That’s a particularly compelling value proposition as healthcare costs rise.
A future built on data and AI
While many challenges still exist, AI’s potential in healthcare is clear. To ensure success, CIOs must create teams that are prepared to maximize the potential of these tools.
Research indicates that most IT decision-makers anticipate a growing need for candidates skilled in data-driven decision-making for roles in data analysis, machine learning and system integration, as well as for training and support roles to aid frontline healthcare staff.
Many leaders also believe that there will be a slowdown in hiring domain experts in IT, instead preferring candidates who have experience using AI to achieve business outcomes, employing AI in more useful ways. As the effective and scaled use of AI becomes a competitive differentiator in the industry, recruiting in-house AI experts will elevate organizations’ ability to embrace developing technology.
With the right technology investments and a clear strategy for AI integration and data analytics, CIOs can build teams that can improve patient outcomes, boost operational efficiency and thrive in healthcare's uncertain future. Embracing these technologies with a strategic mindset is not just an option — it’s a necessity to succeed.
It’s no longer enough to simply maintain systems. CIOs have the power to deploy them strategically, enabling growth. By embracing these technologies with a thoughtful, holistic approach that considers impact across an organization, CIOs can steer their workplaces towards an efficient future and optimized patient care.
Michael Meucci is president and CEO of Arcadia.