Changing Times: How Integrated, AI-Ready Specialty Tech Delivers Measurable Impact through Human-Centered Care

By Brian Chee, Director of Content, Net Health

Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time studying survey results and speaking with specialty experts about how they use tech and how it helps solve challenges such as burnout and reimbursement. It’s important that we, as a technology company serving healthcare clients, understand the challenges our clients and prospects face in this era of change and uncertainty. For 30 years, Net Health has always been driven by and focused on specialists; keeping pace with change is what we always try to do, whether advising on proposed rules or adjusting to market trends.

That’s one of the reasons we partnered with Becker’s: To ask health system leaders about their evolving specialty technology needs. In doing so, I was less interested in what was “new” compared to shifting expectations and requirements.

Our recent Becker’s survey of 100 health system CIOs, IT directors, chief medical officers, and other leaders found that specialty technology is now being evaluated for its ability to deliver sustained value in complex enterprise environments. With most organizations now reporting established or expanding use of specialty platforms, this technology is increasingly a part of every aspect of care across the continuum, from analytics to remote monitoring and, of course, documentation. The findings point to the following shifts in how leaders assess, measure, and use specialty technology.

Shift #1: Expectations Are Maturing Quickly

The survey shows that leaders increasingly seek intelligence that is informed by data, embedded in workflows, and seamlessly integrated across enterprise systems. Health system leaders, focused on durability, integration, and long-term value, recognize the benefits of this in driving better outcomes through accurate documentation, compliance, and clinical workflows. As leaders prioritize durability, integration, and long-term value, specialty platforms are increasingly judged by how well they fit into real-world care delivery rather than by feature breadth alone. We saw a potential shift toward expansion of scope, reflecting a new phase of adoption: 43% are expanding their specialty tech scope. This is perhaps a nod to artificial intelligence’s (AI) influence. In addition, nearly half (47%) of respondents report established usage.

Shift #2: The Value of Embedded AI

Of course, the current “AI transformation” is a large part of this, or any, tech story. Our decision-makers shared optimism about AI’s role, with about half of respondents stating that embedding AI into specialty electronic health records (EHRs) is a meaningful benefit. When evaluating AI approaches, survey takers placed greater value on agentic AI (33%) that supports task-based automation than generative AI (20%) alone. Nearly half (47%) indicated that both generative and agentic AI capabilities are valuable.

These responses suggest that while leaders see promise in AI, long-term value will depend on real-world proof and seamless integration into specialty workflows; there’s an acknowledgment that embedded intelligence must be paired with governance and proof of impact. As expectations rise, leaders are increasingly focused on which platforms can translate promise into improved patient and clinician experience—a promise made by AI.

Shift #3: From Cost-Focused to Outcome-Focused ROI

Even with AI and its still-undiscovered potential, leaders are finding ways to define ROI. It’s mostly through a multi-dimensional set of metrics spanning revenue, costs, compliance, productivity, time savings, and patient outcomes. The survey found that most expected tangible returns within one to two years. When making investment decisions, however, operational and financial benefits were evaluated equally. A majority of leaders cite patient experience improvement as a critically important factor, on par with ease of integration with enterprise systems.

Overall, we found that respondents expect specialty technology to operate within a broader enterprise ecosystem to improve the patient experience, support specialty-specific workflows, and deliver measurable returns within defined timeframes. At the same time, realizing the value of technology depends on organizational readiness. Challenges such as data privacy concerns, clinical–administrative alignment, resistance to change, and skills gaps underscore the need for investment in governance, change management, and people to achieve success with technology. Vendors who partner with health systems go a long way toward helping them realize the value of specialty technology as a silent assistant in the one thing that matters most: making the human experience of care as good as it can possibly be.