Arcadia research highlights CIOs' strategic influence in healthcare and identifies AI’s impact on the workforce.
BOSTON — September 4, 2024 — Arcadia® (arcadia.io), a leading data platform for healthcare, today announced findings from a new study showing 96% of healthcare technology leaders believe effectively leveraging AI provides a competitive edge.1 Additionally, 33% of surveyed decision-makers view AI as vital today, and that increases to 73% who think AI will be essential in the next five years.1
The research aligns with market analyses that quantify AI’s potential impact on healthcare. Accenture predicts AI can save the U.S. healthcare economy $150 billion annually by 2026,2 and a modest estimate from McKinsey projects AI can automate 15% of healthcare work hours.3
Arcadia’s research, conducted with The Harris Poll, also revealed how healthcare leaders use AI. 63% say it can analyze large patient data sets to identify trends and create population health intervention strategies, 58% say AI can analyze individual patient data to identify opportunities to improve health outcomes, and 47% say AI can optimize the management and analysis of electronic health records.1
"Healthcare leaders are thoughtfully preparing to harness the full value of AI in care delivery reform," said Aneesh Chopra, Arcadia’s Chief Strategy Officer. "As safe, secure data sharing scales in healthcare, technology leaders prioritize data platforms that can organize fragmented patient records into clinically relevant insights at each step of a patient's journey."
Need For Health Analytics Platforms to Support Patient Care
To succeed in a new era of innovation, 83% of health tech decision-makers agree that effectively harnessing data helps organizations stay competitive and resilient despite financial and digital transformation forces.1 Consequently, 84% say their organization’s current priorities are tech-related.1
Specifically, 44% prioritize an enterprise approach to data and analytics, 41% focus on augmenting decision-making with AI, and 32% aim to simplify their technical ecosystems.1 Improving the patient experience is a high priority for 40% of respondents, with 35% focused on improving patient outcomes and 29% on bettering patient engagement and care.1
"CIOs and their teams are setting the stage for an AI-powered revolution in patient care and healthcare operations," said Michael Meucci, Arcadia’s President and CEO. “Our findings point to strong consensus among healthcare CIOs that a solid data foundation is required to make the AI-enabled future a reality. CIOs also recognize that a human workforce with evolving talent and skills will shape the real-world impact of AI in healthcare.”
Advancing Strategic Goals with AI
Arcadia’s study found that 96% of health tech leaders are confident in adopting AI but feel pressured to act quickly.1 82% say the heat comes from data and analytics teams, 78% feel pressure from IT and tech teams, and 73% cite urgency from executive leadership.1
However, 40% of leaders cite lack of talent as a top challenge for adopting AI, indicating a shift in the talents and skills CIOs expect from their teams.1 IT leaders surveyed point to increased demand for data-driven decision-making skills (71%), data analysis, machine learning, and systems integration skills (66%), and training and support roles for healthcare staff (59%).1
Evolving Role of Health System CIOs
Healthcare CIOs say their roles also evolve as data and AI play larger roles in their organizations’ strategies. 87% consider themselves a strategy influencer or leader, emphasizing their involvement in setting, refining, and executing business strategy.1 In contrast, only 13% see themselves as merely strategy implementers.1
While the modern CIO shifts from execution to strategy, some feel restrained by day-to-day operations. 58% are primarily focused on tactical execution, with an emphasis on the day-to-day over long-term strategy development.1 Yet, to be effective, respondents say roughly three-fourths of their time should focus on developing and implementing strategy.1 Foundry’s latest State of the CIO Study supports this sentiment, noting that CIOs’ stature as a strategic business advisor continues to blossom—with 88% of CIOs they surveyed saying their role is becoming more innovation-focused.4
Read Arcadia’s report, “The Healthcare CIO’s Role in the Age of AI,” to discover AI's transformative potential in healthcare, uncover industry leaders' key priorities, and explore how CIOs are evolving to become strategic visionaries.
1 The Healthcare CIO’s Role in the Age of AI, Arcadia and The Harris Poll, 2024
2 AI: Healthcare’s New Nervous System, Accenture, 2020
3 Transforming healthcare with AI: The impact on the workforce and organizations, McKinsey & Company, 2020
4 State of the CIO 2024, Foundry, 2024
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