Majority of health system executives believe AI is foundational to achieving proactive care, Chartis Digital Transformation Survey finds

Health systems confront a mandate for change: Nearly 90% of healthcare executives indicate their organizations must fundamentally transform operations over the next five years to remain sustainable and meet evolving patient and market demands.

CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital transformation strategy has accelerated as a priority focus for the healthcare industry as AI, digital tools, operational resilience, and personalization have become necessary forces to care delivery, according to the fifth annual Health System Digital Transformation Survey by leading healthcare advisory firm, Chartis.

• Digital and AI strategies drive proactive care models:  Leaders express cautious optimism that digital and AI capabilities will enable a transition from reactive to proactive care—enhancing access, personalizing the patient journey, and aligning resources to demand.
• Digital maturity to define competitive advantage:  Executives predict that organizational scale will become less of a differentiator, with digital-first patient experiences and digitally enabled care emerging as the primary markers of high-performing health systems.

Hospitals and health systems have long relied on incremental improvement to address persistent challenges, many of which are highlighted in previous Chartis analyses. Those efforts have delivered only limited impact. Executives now acknowledge that incrementalism has reached its limit and that transformation powered by AI and innovative digital capabilities is the path to building a sustainable, proactive care model.

• 61% indicate care is not affordable.
• 52% say today's care models don't manage patient health and wellness.
• ~50% report patients don't have timely or convenient access to primary and specialty care.  

Survey respondents (150 health system executives) agree they must navigate today's mounting healthcare headwinds by taking a different approach: pursuing proactive models to deliver care that's more accessible, lowers cost, and provides intelligent and patient-centric care.
Executives believe they can achieve this paradigm shift and significantly resolve ongoing challenges by leveraging new, advanced digital and AI tools.

"Addressing the challenges facing healthcare organizations today requires substantive business transformation. Digitally transforming your organization plays a critical role, and the changes necessary start at the top of the organization as a strategic imperative and must be embraced all the way down the line," said report co-author Tom Kiesau, Chartis' Chief AI & Digital Officer. "We may finally be at a tipping point if 90% of healthcare executives agree on the need for fundamental change. 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."

Key findings

1. Health systems agree they must change how they operate to remain sustainable by transforming from reactive to proactive care delivery over the next five years:
   • 91% of executives agree that health systems must "fundamentally change" their operations if they are to overcome today's challenges and reposition themselves to thrive in the next five years.
   • ~50% identify persistent challenges and say they will grow worse unless health systems make significant changes.
2. While most executives believe AI and digital enablement will unlock proactive care, many acknowledge the clock is ticking and that slow adopters risk being left behind in an industry shifting to prevention over reaction:
   • Executives believe they will achieve the shift to proactive care by transforming access (89%), personalizing the patient journey (86%), fitting resources to demand (77%), and serving more patients (75%).
   • 90% have already prioritized leveraging digital and AI capabilities to achieve these goals.
3. Executives believe the key differentiators of leading health systems in five years will be digital:
   • Most executives say size will be less of a differentiator.
   • Executives say the two greatest differentiators of leading health systems will be digital-first experience and digitally enabled care.

The report closes with four imperatives for healthcare leaders preparing for transformation. The next five years will determine whether health systems advance toward proactive, AI-enabled care or continue to rely on reactive models that are no longer sufficient.

View the full report.

Methodology

Chartis surveyed 150 health system executives in September 2025 about the state of digital transformation and their progress to date. Respondents represented a range of health system types, sizes, locations, and executive roles.

About Chartis

The challenges facing US healthcare are longstanding and all too familiar. We are Chartis, and we believe in better. We work with over 900 clients annually to develop and activate transformative strategies, operating models, and organizational enterprises that make US healthcare more affordable, accessible, safe, and human. With over 1,350 professionals, we help providers, payers, technology innovators, retail companies, and investors create and embrace solutions that tangibly and materially reshape healthcare for the better. Our family of brands—Chartis, Jarrard, Greeley, and HealthScape Advisors—is 100% focused on healthcare and each has a longstanding commitment to helping transform healthcare in big and small ways. Learn more. 

SOURCE The Chartis Group