Healthcare Leads in AI Adoption, New Reports Show

December 17, 2025

Healthcare Is Now One of the Fastest-Growing Sectors for AI

Healthcare may have lagged in previous technology waves, but with AI, it has become one of the fastest adopters in the economy. New reports—OpenAI State of Enterprise AI Report (Dec. 2025) and a Morning Consult survey (Sept. 2025)—show that healthcare is now leading nearly every other sector in AI adoption. Additionally, an article published Dec. 12 in JAMA Open Network reported that nearly half of U.S. hospitals are on track to use generative AI by the end of 2025.

OpenAI’s enterprise data and workforce survey (covering 9,000 employees across approximately 100 organizations) and Morning Consult’s survey (of over 700 healthcare executives and providers) show healthcare as one of the fastest-growing sectors adopting AI, alongside technology and manufacturing. Real-world usage patterns indicate adoption spreading across clinical, administrative, and operational teams.

Healthcare Employees Save Time with AI

Employees in the healthcare sector are feeling the impact of AI’s rapid expansion:

75% say AI has improved the speed or quality of their work
Most workers save 40–60 minutes per day
Heavy AI users save 10+ hours per week
87% of IT teams report resolving issues faster with AI tools

Healthcare Systems Top the List of AI Adoption

According to the Morning Consult survey, healthcare organizations are implementing AI at more than twice the rate of the broader U.S. economy. Key survey findings include:

22% of healthcare organizations now use domain-specific AI tools
—a 7× increase from 2024 and 10× from 2023
Health systems lead with 27% adoption, followed by outpatient providers (18%) and payers (14%)
Across the broader economy, only 9% of organizations have adopted AI—and most rely on general-purpose tools

Half of US Hospitals to Adopt AI by the End of the Year

In 2024, nearly one in three nonfederal U.S. acute care hospitals used generative AI integrated into their electronic health records, according to the JAMA Network Open analysis of a national survey of 2,174 hospitals. An additional 24.7% said they planned to adopt generative AI within a year, putting roughly half of U.S. hospitals on track to use the technology by the end of 2025.

Adoption was higher among health system–affiliated and teaching hospitals, as well as those using Epic EHRs, while independent hospitals and facilities with a high share of Medicaid discharges were less likely to report current use or near-term adoption plans.

Where Healthcare Is Investing in AI

AI investment in healthcare nearly tripled year-over-year to reach $1.4 billion in 2025. Three categories dominate the spending:

Ambient clinical documentation — $600M (Tools like Abridge and Nuance DAX that reduce clinician burden)
Coding & billing automation — $450M
Patient engagement & prior authorization — 10–20× YoY growth

Real-World Deployments Are Scaling to Historic Levels

Healthcare is shifting toward an AI-first operating model faster than expected. What started as experimentation in documentation and analytics is quickly turning into a full-scale transformation, supported by budgets, executive sponsorship, and measurable results.

Several major health systems are moving beyond pilots and proofs of concept, leading to some of the industry’s biggest AI deployments.

Kaiser Permanente implemented Abridge’s ambient documentation platform across 40 hospitals and over 600 medical offices—the largest deployment of generative AI in healthcare to date.
Advocate Health evaluated more than 225 AI tools and implemented 40 live use cases, covering documentation, imaging, and call center automation.
Mayo Clinic has invested over $1 billion in AI and is currently leading more than 200 active projects across clinical and administrative areas.

Staying HIPAA Compliant is a Top Priority in AI Adoption

As AI technologies rapidly advance and become incorporated within the healthcare workflow, a significant gap has emerged between these innovative tools and the existing policies designed to protect sensitive health information under HIPAA. Read our latest articles for more information on navigating the adoption of generative AI while staying HIPAA compliant.

Ensure HIPAA Compliance in Generative AI Systems

PrivaPlan has released a critical new resource to help health care organizations navigate the adoption of generative AI while staying HIPAA compliant. It’s built to help you advise leadership, evaluate risk, establish AI teams, develop internal policies, and configure security settings.