Healthcare Technology Systems Lag Far Behind What Clinicians and Patients Need

Health systems are confronting record staffing shortages, tightening cybersecurity and interoperability mandates, uncertainty around insurance subsidies, and pressure to prove return on investment (ROI) on artificial intelligence (AI) investments. This pressure is falling to clinicians who are relying on outdated technology systems to provide a high level of care in increasingly complex and fast-paced environments.

Outdated technology is the root cause behind many of healthcare’s most persistent challenges, but tech should be the solution, not the problem. Modern, interoperable, and AI-driven systems can support healthcare workers, ease burnout, ensure data compliance/security, and reduce errors. As already stretched-thin 2026 budgets are being pulled in many directions, health systems should prioritize what will have the most direct impact on patient care and bridge the gap between tech’s potential and grim reality in healthcare. 

Outdated Tech is Jeopardizing Patient Safety 

Outdated and fragmented tech stacks are no longer just an inconvenience or efficiency issue, but a patient risk factor. A recent survey of 1,008 frontline healthcare professionals who are directly involved in patient care (physicians in hospitals, primary care, specialty offices, and emergency/urgent care settings and nurses) found nearly 9 in 10 report their current tech systems fall short of meeting their needs, and 80% say outdated tech contributes to clinician burnout. When systems don’t integrate well, it becomes harder for clinicians to get the data they need when they need it, causing delays, duplicate work, and frustration. 

When energy is spent locating siloed data or navigating clunky IT systems, clinicians lose valuable time for patient care. The critical relationship and trust built between clinician and patient is often lost in this shuffle. Almost all (98%) report outdated or inefficient technology causes delays or errors in patient care, averaging 11 incidents per month, with 24% saying these happen daily. If an electronic chart buffers, a medication order doesn’t go through, or a diagnostic platform is confusing to navigate, a real-life patient is impacted. 

The time is now to modernize systems and take advantage of the latest advancements in technology, namely AI. 

How Clinicians Actually Want to Use AI

Most clinicians (98%) want to use AI primarily to help streamline and automate administration-heavy, routine tasks. Activities like documentation, billing, and scheduling eat up valuable clinical hours and are prone to human error but do not require clinical judgement, making them a perfect fit for AI-powered automation. 

However, there is a persistent disconnect between what clinicians want regarding AI in the workplace and what organizations are willing or able to deliver. While 98% of clinicians agree that AI could help streamline and automate routine tasks, fewer than half report that their organizations are currently using the tech. 

Outdated Systems, Risky Workarounds

Legacy tech holds healthcare systems back from realizing the full potential of the tech at their disposal while at the same time prompting healthcare workers to turn to unsanctioned AI tools and other workarounds to fill the gaps lefts by their organization’s legacy tech systems. Almost a quarter (23%) admit to using workarounds for basic tasks, often in exposed blind spots outside approved systems. 

Shadow AI has become a major concern, especially because the proportion of healthcare providers hit by extortion-only cyberattacks tripled in 2025, according to Sophos’ The State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2025 report. Sensitive patient data and medical records are lucrative targets for cyber-criminals and must be monitored on approved systems to ensure compliance and avoid data exfiltration and extortion. 

The primary barriers to AI adoption remain at the technical level, including old systems, lack of governance, and slow decision-making. If technical barriers were removed, almost all the healthcare workers surveyed by our company were confident that AI would have an immediate positive impact, especially in automating administrative tasks that restore time to patient care. But until those issues are addressed, integration of new tools will remain a major hurdle, and clinicians will be stuck waiting for upgrades they know will help but haven’t happened yet.

By recognizing where legacy tech systems are breaking down and understanding how it’s impacting patient care and clinician workflows, healthcare tech leaders can determine the areas in greatest need of targeted investments. Healthcare professionals are ready for this shift — now it is time for executives to deliver.