Finding deeper value in healthcare AI for medical information
Yaw Fellin, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Clinical Decision Support and Provider Solutions
What are the biggest healthcare AI priorities for medical providers in 2026?
“As healthcare enterprises move from testing to implementation of AI medical information solutions, we are hearing three key themes: Scale, Value, and Trust. Healthcare providers have told us they want solutions that will easily scale across the enterprise and in existing workflows such as ambient scribes and EHRs. They also want to see value beyond ‘it's fast.’ One value we hear repeatedly is the desire for insights from usage and broader support for a variety of roles in healthcare. When it comes to trust, they want transparency about the source of the information. In other words, who is writing it? How is it arriving at the answers and what assumptions are being made?”
Health systems choose AI solutions for maximum value & impact
Christopher Sullivan, Vice President and General Manager, Pharmacy and Health Technology Solutions
With so many health AI solutions, how do hospital C-suite leaders strategically select the best options?
“The digital health technology market is estimated to grow to over $300 billion in 2026, according to multiple sources. A large part of this growth is driven by AI-powered clinical decision support, ambient documentation tools, and emerging interoperability solutions that are shaping a new healthcare ecosystem where trusted clinical guidance is easier to access within the workflow. We expect healthcare organizations will consolidate their technology portfolios, prioritizing clinical solutions that deliver the greatest impact and provide exponential value to care workflows. Transparency and trust will emerge as core requirements for technology integration by both payers and providers.”
Turning to tech to turn the tide on nursing workforce shortages
Bethany Robertson, Clinical Executive, Health Learning & Practice segment
What’s the biggest cultural shift ahead for nurses in 2026, and why is it so critical?
“Over the past year we have seen the nursing industry experience significant shifts as transformative care models and technologies like GenAI, virtual nursing and ambient listening tools move from a pipedream to actual implementations. In 2026, leading healthcare organizations will continue to take steps forward with building the infrastructure, training and guidelines needed to facilitate, not hinder nurses’ daily workflows.
Under a landscape where workforce shortages, career satisfaction and unbalanced patient ratios are still negatives, health systems implementing these new offerings need their nursing workforce involved in the roll out and subsequent evaluation of these tools. This ensures that the use cases support the issues in their workflow and aren’t seen as a decision made by leadership in absence of nursing’s voice, while also understanding the true impact of the efforts. This cultural shift toward tech adoption will empower nurses to work more efficiently, reduce burnout, and elevate the overall quality of care. Ultimately, these trends will position nursing as a dynamic, technology-supported profession that remains at the forefront of patient-centered innovation.”
AI is accelerating new medical discoveries
Rafael Sidi, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Health Research
Where do you see AI's tangible impact in accelerating the medical research journey in 2026?
“The future of health research isn’t just about more data it’s about turning knowledge into impact faster than ever before. In 2026, AI will help us move beyond searching and reading to truly understanding and applying insights in real time. Imagine a world where clinicians don’t have to wait months or years for guidelines to catch up, because AI is continuously synthesizing global evidence and surfacing what matters most. That’s not just efficiency it’s better care, everywhere.
AI is rapidly becoming an essential partner for researchers, helping them find, summarize, and synthesize the latest evidence and literature. It’s transforming how journals are published, peer-reviewed, and consumed making scholarly content more dynamic, accessible, and personalized. AI will also play a pivotal role in upholding research integrity by helping make the peer review process more open, efficient, and trustworthy, automating corrections and retractions, and ensuring that the most current, high-quality evidence is always available. Rather than replacing human judgment, AI will strengthen it, creating a future where evidence-based medicine is continuously informed by the latest science delivered faster, smarter, and with greater impact.
The opportunity ahead is extraordinary. By leading with purpose, responsibility, and a commitment to innovation, we can shape a future where technology and human expertise work together to advance health research and improve lives.”
Transparency in drug pricing empowers health consumers
Staci A. Hermann, PharmD, MS, FASHP, FACHE, Vice President, Embedded Clinical Decision Support Content
What will give health consumers an upper hand in fighting healthcare costs in 2026?
“Transparency in drug pricing will become the next centerpiece of healthcare consumerism. Empowered patients across all generations are demanding clear, accessible medication costs, leveraging digital platforms and social media influencers for information. Companies like CostPlus and direct-to-consumer channels from pharma players will accelerate this shift, as federal scrutiny on PBMs and health plans intensifies. The result: a more engaged, informed public driving market pressure for affordable, honest drug pricing.”
GLP-1 medications spotlight compounding pharmacies working to meet demand while ensuring USP compliance
Annie Lambert, PharmD, BCSCP, Clinical Program Manager for Compliance Solutions
How can compounding pharmacies deliver more medications than ever without compromising quality?
“In 2026, compounding pharmacies will remain in the spotlight, driven by demand for GLP-1 medications and heightened regulatory scrutiny as state boards move beyond basic implementation of USP standards. Compliance programs will mature, shifting from manual tasks to intelligent, integrated oversight, using AI-powered platforms to automate monitoring and documentation while connecting vendor systems. However, in-person checks and balances will remain essential to ensure accountability and quality. The Designated Person’s role will evolve into a strategic leadership position that balances advanced automation with hands-on validation to ensure safety and trust in a rapidly changing landscape.”
Drug diversion detection protects patients and helps staff in need
Steve Mok, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, BCIDP, Manager of Pharmacy Services and Fellowship Director
Drug theft in hospitals has become a popular Hollywood storyline. How can hospitals turn the tide on this dangerous trend back in the real world?
“Pop culture examples like The Pitt and Nurse Jackie portray a glimpse of the world of drug diversion (theft of medications by healthcare workers), but in reality, diversion impacts thousands of healthcare workers—and the even larger number of patients they serve. More troubling , a recent survey showed as many as two-thirds of healthcare leaders lack confidence in their diversion prevention programs. With thousands of record reviews required to deduce suspicious patterns, AI-backed solutions quickly become a necessity for organizations looking to take a proactive and holistic approach to patient and staff safety. As hospitals look to ramp up their AI investments in 2026, drug diversion is a low hanging fruit where timely, automated deduction and pattern recognition can quickly enable teams to reduce harm to patients and staff.
Infection preventionists face data modernization and workforce challenges
Matt Weissenbach, DrPH, CPH, CIC, FAPIC, Senior Director of Clinical Affairs
What are the biggest challenges facing infection prevention professionals in 2026?
“In 2026, infection preventionists will realize the increased surveillance benefit from data modernization and continued adoption of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) in healthcare data exchange. Staffing shortages, however, will likely continue or worsen as healthcare organizations continue to balance revenue and cost challenges in a demanding economic environment. Burnout and turnover will remain high, making it difficult to build consistency, prepare for emerging threats, and advance infection prevention programs. Although a sizeable reporting burden will continue, the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) will introduce new reporting measures such as hospital-onset bacteremia to help combat risks of subjectivity and interrater variability as central line-associated bloodstream infections continue to decrease nationally. Infection prevention teams will continue to diversify with staff having backgrounds in nursing, microbiology, public health, and epidemiology among others.”
Workflow optimization accelerates prior authorization
Anne Donovan, Vice President and General Manager of Health Language
How critical a role will data quality play in prior authorization with the new CMS rule?
“By January 2026, the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule will fundamentally reshape how payers manage prior authorization workflows. Organizations that fail to adopt automated, interoperable solutions will face significant challenges—data fragmentation, inconsistent code sets, and overwhelming manual burden.
The winners in 2026 will be those who invest in data quality and terminology management. Leveraging FHIR-based terminology services will become essential for normalizing clinical data, maintaining accurate value sets, and ensuring consistent mapping across systems. This foundation will enable real-time visibility into prior authorization approvals and decision-making, allowing organizations to prioritize cases requiring deeper clinical review.
The impact will be transformative: thousands of hours saved in manual work, improved interoperability, and better care and coverage decisions across the healthcare system—all while meeting CMS requirements with confidence.”
