CHIME's Digital Health Most Wired Report Finds AI Use Reaches 93% as Health Systems Navigate Governance and Oversight

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), the leading professional organization for digital health leaders, today released its 2026 Digital Health Most Wired National Trends Report, an in-depth view of the technologies, leadership practices, and organizational capability shaping digital health across the United States. Derived from data from the 2026 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired (DHMW) survey, powered by Digital Health Analytics (DHA), the report provides perspective on industry progress, emerging priorities, and the factors increasingly distinguishing technology adoption from sustained performance and value across healthcare delivery.

The 2026 findings point to an industry entering an exciting new phase of digital development. Technologies once considered emerging are now embedded across clinical and operational environments, and health systems are rapidly embracing AI while building the governance, evaluation and accountability practices to support it. Strong digital foundations continue to ensure that technology investments advance organizational performance and the delivery of safe, effective patient care.

Drawing from over 48,800+ healthcare facilities, representing organizations across 46 U.S. states and five countries, a key finding shows that AI is now embedded across healthcare, with 93.2% of participating organizations using AI in clinical or operational processes. Fully adopted generative AI rose from 31.0% to 54.8% in a single year. As adoption accelerates, 16.4% of AI users already have fully documented processes for monitoring models after deployment, pointing to a clear opportunity for the industry to build on this momentum and strengthen governance and oversight.

"Healthcare has reached an inflection point where technology adoption is giving way to a powerful new focus on how effectively organizations put it to use," said Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME. "AI and other digital technologies are advancing at extraordinary speed, but lasting value depends on the leadership, governance and infrastructure surrounding them."

Additional insights from 2026 report include:

• Operational resilience remains a priority. Only 39.1% can restore all critical systems within four hours, and organizations that test failover are about twice as likely to meet that bar (45.7% vs. 23.5%).
• Digital leaders are connecting investment to value. The most digitally advanced organizations are more than twice as likely to monitor cost savings from digital engagement (80.0% vs. 37.1%), while 77.0% of organizations cite ROI uncertainty as their top innovation barrier.
• Building an AI-ready workforce remains a priority. 15.7% have a comprehensive, role-based data literacy program, and ambient listening is fully adopted for physicians at 60.8% but for nurses at 9.5%.
• Prior authorization automation continues to advance. 49.4% have automated prior authorization, falling to 28.9% among smaller organizations, as CMS payer API requirements take effect in January 2027.
• Climate data represents an emerging opportunity. Only 5.6% have fully adopted heat index data, though extreme heat is a growing threat to older, chronically ill and very young patients.

The report highlights priority areas for healthcare leaders, including AI governance, cyber resilience, clinical technology integration, trusted analytics, disaster preparedness, and recovery readiness. Together, the findings offer a clearer view of where focused investment can strengthen organizational performance, inform digital strategy, and support the continued advancement of patient care.

For complete findings, analysis and supporting data from the 2026 Digital Health Most Wired National Trends Report, visit https://chimecentral.org/chime/resource-report/2026-digital-health-most-wired-survey-trends-report.

About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading professional organization for digital health executives and leaders. CHIME provides a trusted, collaborative environment where members and partners connect, share best practices, advance professional development, and advocate for the effective use of information and technology to improve health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

About Digital Health Analytics (DHA)
Digital Health Analytics provides healthcare organizations, technology companies, and academic researchers with the data, benchmarking, and market intelligence they need to lead digital transformation — 365 days a year. Powered by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), DHA helps provider organizations supercharge their digital health transformation capabilities. For more information about DHA, visit dhanalytics.org.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Calli Dretke
Executive Vice President & Chief Digital and Marketing Officer
CHIME
734.665.0000
[email protected]

SOURCE College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)