Survey: AI, digital health key to expanding health system capacity

Most health system leaders are prioritizing AI and digital health solutions to support various goals, including increasing health system capacity without adding facility space or clinicians, according to a recent report by healthcare advisory firm Chartis.

The report is based on the results of the firm's fifth annual digital transformation survey conducted in September 2025. The survey polled 150 health system executives about the state of digital transformation and their progress.

The survey highlighted the most persistent challenges in healthcare delivery today. According to health system leaders, these include unaffordable care (61%), poor management of patient health and wellness (52%) and a lack of timely, convenient access to primary care (49%).

Over half of health system leaders believe that the sustainability of the current healthcare delivery model will worsen in the next five years.

According to the survey, nine in 10 health executives agree that health systems must fundamentally change their operations, shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach to care delivery. AI and digital health tools have emerged as vital components of health systems' strategies to achieve this shift.

Most health system leaders (90%) said that they are already prioritizing digital and AI capabilities.

According to the executives, these capabilities will be essential to serving more patients without adding facility square footage or clinician headcount in the next five years. About half of the survey respondents said that using AI to free up provider time for clinical care (52%) and maximize access to clinical expertise (51%) is very important for increasing health system capacity.

Additionally, 45% underscored the importance of establishing a digitally enabled referral channel, and 36% noted that building a hospital-at-home program is crucial for increasing capacity.

About half of health system leaders (53%) stated that increasing the reach of healthcare delivery, through initiatives such as care-at-home and mobile clinics, is very important for expanding healthcare access. They also said that using AI coaches to answer patient questions (44%), utilizing connected devices and remote diagnostics to collect health data (43%) and employing AI to predict health risks (43%) are essential for providing timely and convenient access to care.

Health system leaders further emphasized the importance of using digital and AI tools to personalize the patient journey. The survey shows that 52% of respondents believe offering multiple digital communication channels is very important to personalizing the patient journey, while 48% said data collection and AI will be key to personalizing care plans.

"Organizations need to capitalize on the momentum in this moment -- and ensure that they are truly realizing the potential presented by AI and digital capabilities to drive needed business transformation at scale," said Tom Kiesau, report co-author and chief AI and digital officer at Chartis, in the press release.

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.