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US healthcare providers and payers invested more into artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and IT infrastructure this year, a study suggests.

The study of Bain & Company and KLAS Research reported that 15% of US healthcare providers and 25% of payers established an AI strategy in 2024.

“They are rigorously evaluating business cases around new spend, expecting new solutions to drive compelling ROI [return on investment] on a short payback period,” author and partner of Bain’s Healthcare and Life Sciences and Technology practices Aaron Feinberg told Healthcare Finance News.

Feinberg said that these organizations are balancing financial pressure with the promise of returning on their investment, with regulatory, cost, and accuracy concerns remaining the main obstacles to broader AI implementation.

According to survey results, providers are directing IT budgets toward clinical workflow optimization, data platforms, and revenue cycle management.

Cost management and electronic health record (EHR) integration remain persistent issues for healthcare providers, with Feinberg noting that they have ‘seen the most excitement and early adoption around clinical documentation solutions.’

“GenAI pilots are driving a very significant reduction in documentation burden, easing clinician burnout,” Feinberg added.

Roughly two-thirds of payers, on the other hand, are focused on modernizing core administrative systems and improving care coordination, citing legacy technology as a major barrier.

“Legacy technology remains a major issue for payers and there is ‘no panacea’ to this pervasive challenge for large payers,” Feinberg said.

Feinberg added that most payers continue to modernize on a ‘piecemeal’ basis, piloting solutions with smaller lines of business or regions before taking the step of migrating more significant portions of the enterprise.

“There is a risk that smaller organizations treat these audits as performative and perfunctory. As a result, many will not meaningfully strengthen their defenses,” Feinberg continued.

Feinberg said that the best practices healthcare organizations can adopt to strengthen their cybersecurity measures are auditing their and their vendors’ systems for potential vulnerability, and ensuring they have the right technical talent and expertise in cybersecurity on-call.