Hospitals in 2026: Predictions for patient care, technology, and more
As 2026 begins, hospitals and healthcare providers face a rapidly changing landscape.
We gathered insights from more than two dozen healthcare leaders across the industry. They offer their predictions about the challenges and opportunities in the year ahead.
The projections cover changing federal regulations, the continued growth of AI and other technologies and cybersecurity threats. They point to the need to adapt new technologies and care models but also to closely examine their performance, how they mesh with workflows, and assess returns on investment.
While the forecasts cover different aspects of the world of health care, many share one similar sentiment. Healthcare executives are going to need to think differently in the coming year.
Erik Littlejohn, CEO, CloudWave
“The healthcare IT industry will begin to witness a shift in 2026, from traditional uptime metrics to cyber resilience, moving from “how often are we up?” to “how quickly can we recover?”