A report from Vizient describes 2026 as a “reset” year for U.S. healthcare, driven by rising patient complexity, workforce shortages, and rapid adoption of AI. Physicians are seeing older, sicker patients with more comorbidities, while hospitals and practices continue to face thin margins, rising costs, and staffing shortages.
Key trends shaping the industry include:
- AI integration into daily workflows, especially tools like ambient listening and documentation automation that reduce administrative burden.
- Growth of advanced practice providers (APPs), who now represent about 40% of employed clinicians and help address physician shortages.
- Increasing healthcare demand from aging populations, especially patients aged 65 and older.
- Rising operational costs, with expenses growing faster than physician revenue.
Experts say practices that focus on improving patient access, adopting digital tools, and building team-based care models will be best positioned to remain financially viable.