Healthcare executives are still investing in tech as AI’s bill comes due, survey finds
Healthcare executives on both the payer and provider side are still making technology investment a top priority—but they’re being careful about what they buy, a new survey shows.
Despite facing numerous economic challenges that have made it more expensive to do business, consultants at Bain & Company, working with KLAS Research to poll 303 executives, found that healthcare entities still believe that investing in health IT solutions is “indispensable” and the amount of money spent on solutions is only expected to grow.
But, there’s a catch: On both the provider and payer side, CIOs are hoping to see a return on their investment sooner rather than later.
“Providers and payers faced different macro pressures in the first half of 2026 but arrived at the same conclusion: Technology is critical to improving operations but must be able to pay for itself—and quickly,” the authors of the survey wrote.
In either case, that means new tech adoption is focused on key areas where it’s believed they can bring instant savings by improving efficiency. For providers, that means adoption is focused in revenue cycle, clinical workflows and patient engagement. Meanwhile, payers are looking at how IT solutions—including machine-learning and AI—can streamline care coordination, resource utilization management and medical claims processing.
What is AI’s ROI?
The new investments comes at a time when the bill for AI is coming due, the researchers said. Executives said they are expecting big returns on their past and current adoption of artificial intelligence, upwards of 400% of the money they’ve put in.
At this point, it may seem like AI adoption would plateau, but both providers and payers alike continue to pilot new systems, with the trend expected to continue into the near future.
“Artificial intelligence continues to move from planning to execution,” the study authors wrote. “The percentage of providers with an established AI strategy has almost doubled over the past two years, and about 80% of payers are developing or have established an AI strategy.”
ROI will become increasingly important, however, as payers and providers make new commitments to AI technologies, the researchers added.
Providers are particularly excited about AI. According to the survey, 75% of respondents working on the patient care delivery side described themselves as optimistic or highly optimistic about the promises of artificial intelligence, particularly when it comes to ambient documentation, chart summarization and improving clinical documentation.
Payers are in a different place. As it stands, 60% of respondents said they are currently satisfied with AI’s return on investment, with the best use cases currently being call center optimization. Many AI projects remain in pilot or early adoption stages when compared to providers, the survey found.
For more, read the full results of the survey by clicking here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.