From AI-powered operations to care delivered beyond traditional settings, healthcare organizations face a rapidly evolving landscape that may influence growth, patient engagement, workforce productivity, and financial performance throughout 2026 and beyond.
“As healthcare leaders look ahead, the focus is shifting from responding to disruption toward building sustainable strategies that improve care delivery, strengthen financial performance, and support long-term growth,” said Nick Spanakis, PNC’s Head of Healthcare Business Banking.
Here are five trends poised to move healthcare forward in the coming year.
1. AI Moves from Experimentation to Enterprise Impact
Artificial intelligence is becoming embedded across clinical, operational, and administrative workflows. A recent American Medical Association (AMA) survey shows that more than 80% of physicians now use AI professionally – more than double the share reported in 2023.[1] Physician sentiment toward AI is also trending positive with more than three-quarters now saying it improves patient care, up from 65% in 2023. They expect the biggest benefits in better diagnostics and greater efficiency.
PNC Healthcare is also seeing investment accelerate across the digital health landscape. According to PNC's Corporate Healthcare Index, digital health investment reached $4 billion in Q1 2026, a 33% increase from Q1 2025, driven by continued investment in AI, telehealth, and connected health technologies.
What this means for your business:
AI is becoming a core capability. Organizations that align adoption with margin improvement, productivity, and care quality may be better positioned to compete.
2. Hyper-Personalized, Always-On Care Becomes the Standard
Spanakis notes: “Patient expectations continue to shift toward convenient, personalized, and digitally enabled healthcare experiences. Consumers increasingly expect proactive engagement, personalized support, and seamless digital access to care.”
In response, healthcare organizations are leveraging AI and analytics to tailor outreach, streamline interactions, and improve patient experiences.
PNC’s Healthcare Index notes that consumer behavior continues to influence how healthcare organizations evolve, driving new approaches to engagement, care delivery, and service access as organizations seek to better meet patient expectations.
What this means for your business:
Organizations that deliver seamless, personalized experiences may strengthen patient loyalty, improve outcomes, and create a competitive advantage.
3. Wearables and Remote Monitoring Go Mainstream
Wearables are evolving from fitness trackers into clinical tools. Advances in AI are enabling connected devices to analyze patient data in real time and deliver actionable insights.
This shift is expanding the potential of remote patient monitoring, enabling healthcare organizations to move toward more continuous, proactive engagement. From monitoring chronic conditions to detecting early warning signs, AI-powered wearables can help providers monitor patients more effectively while giving individuals greater visibility into their own health.
What this means for your business:
As wearables become more sophisticated, continuous patient monitoring is moving closer to mainstream care. Organizations that adopt AI-enabled remote monitoring tools may gain opportunities to improve outcomes, strengthen patient relationships, and identify potential health issues early.
4. Cybersecurity Becomes a Business Imperative
As healthcare becomes increasingly digital, cybersecurity has evolved from an IT concern into an enterprise-wide business risk. While the cost of a healthcare data breach has fallen, healthcare breaches remain the most expensive of any industry, averaging $7.42 million per incident globally.[2]
Healthcare organizations also experience longer breach lifecycles than other industries – an average of 279 days, five weeks longer than the global average breach lifecycle – increasing both financial exposure and operational disruption.
What this means for your business:
With healthcare experiencing the costliest breaches and some of the longest breach lifecycles of any industry, investments in cybersecurity and data protection are critical to reducing financial exposure, accelerating incident response, and preserving patient trust.
5. Care Expands Beyond Traditional Clinical Settings
Care delivery continues shifting toward outpatient, virtual, and home-based models, driven by both cost pressures and patient preferences. Telehealth has evolved from a pandemic-era necessity into a permanent component of healthcare delivery, with 71% of physicians reporting telehealth use in 2024 – nearly three times the pre-pandemic rate.[3]
At the same time, remote patient monitoring, virtual visits, and other digitally enabled care models are expanding access beyond hospitals and physician offices, allowing patients to receive care where they live and work.
According to PNC Healthcare, outpatient care remains a key strategic priority for hospitals and health systems as organizations respond to operating cost pressures, competitive dynamics, and demand for lower-cost care settings.
What this means for your business:
Healthcare organizations must be prepared to engage patients across multiple care settings, not just within traditional facilities. Investments in telehealth, remote monitoring, and home-based care capabilities may help expand access, improve care coordination, and support more efficient care delivery across a growing range of settings.
Prepare Your Organization for the Future with PNC Healthcare
Technology innovation, changing patient expectations, and evolving care models will continue to reshape the healthcare landscape in 2026 and beyond.
“Organizations that proactively invest in the right capabilities – while maintaining a focus on operational efficiency, financial resilience, and patient outcomes – may be better positioned to navigate change and capitalize on new opportunities,” said Spanakis.
Whether you're evaluating technology investments, managing growth initiatives, or planning for long-term financial sustainability, PNC Healthcare can help you make informed decisions and move forward with confidence.
