The pace of technology adoption in healthcare is moving faster than ever before, driven largely by AI, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising patient expectations, according to health system CIOs.
Eric Daffron, vice president and CIO of Dothan, Ala.-based Southeast Health, said new technologies are rolling out at “lightning speed,” particularly as vendors embed AI into products.
“Technology changes and proposed adoption seem to be coming to healthcare organizations at lightning speed. AI appears to be the main contributor behind the ‘new norm’ of fast feature and function rollout,” Mr. Daffron told Becker’s. “In the past, a health system knew to expect a few tweaks here and there on modules. These were typically features requested by the user community that were vetted by the software vendor, coded into the product and rolled out in a year or two.”
Today, with AI becoming increasingly embedded into products, Mr. Daffron said these new features are designed and rolled out into updates in weeks and months instead of years.
“Health systems today are challenged more with are they able to make the necessary workflow changes and communicate the change to stakeholders quick enough to keep pace with what’s being included in each new upgrade,” he said.
Omer Awan, vice president and CIO of Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, agreed that the pace has accelerated and pointed to multiple factors, including the COVID-19, the explosion of data and AI, consumer expectations, value-based care and reimbursement shifts, as well as cybersecurity and compliance pressures.
That rapid pace is being matched by growing investment. Health systems have ramped up IT spending to unify EHRs, integrate AI tools and upgrade infrastructure in preparation for future growth, according to a 2025 report from Kaufman Hall.
Children’s hospitals led the way with nearly a 16% increase in monthly IT spending, while academic medical centers and acute care hospitals each saw IT spend rise by 7.5%.
Spending on healthcare technology management also grew across the board, with children’s hospitals reporting a 10% increase.
“Patients now expect healthcare experiences to be as seamless as banking or retail—driving investments in mobile apps, patient portals, and virtual care,” he told Becker’s.
At Fred Hutch, Mr. Awan said technology is now “at the core of cancer care delivery and research.” He pointed to precision oncology, digital-first clinical trials, and interoperability advances as areas where adoption is moving especially fast.
“Healthcare has historically lagged in technology adoption, but cancer centers are now often leading the charge—because the stakes are so high, the data is so rich, and the potential to improve lives is so tangible,” he said.
Both leaders said the most striking shift is not one technology but the volume and velocity of change.
“The way you do things today can look vastly different tomorrow,” Mr. Daffron said.
