Forward Outlook: Critical Healthcare Trends Shaping 2026

Care delivery is no longer a function that health organizations can manage in isolation. Conversations have evolved beyond incremental efficiency to focus on bigger question: How quickly can payers and providers evolve into an intelligent, interoperable systems that connect data, processes, and people? The ecosystem is now inseparable, where payers, providers, technology platforms, regulators, and members rely on one another.

That foundation was set in 2025. Now 2026 will test how well the industry scales it, ensuring trust and care outcomes. Five forces will determine who leads, lags, and transforms in 2026.

• Agentic AI moves from experimentation to everyday execution
• Cybersecurity becomes a clinical safety issue more than an IT function
• Interoperability turns mandatory, reshaping data sharing at scale
• Smart hospitals shift from aspiration to measurable operational impact
• Specialty care brings breakthroughs that demand new financial models

Each of these trends carries opportunity, but also consequence. The organizations that succeed will be the ones that prepare now.

Deliver Care Without Compromise

Behind every trend in this report lies one collective concern:

How do we strengthen an industry that must be always-on, always-secure, and always-human?

Care cannot pause, systems cannot fail, and trust cannot be repaired after a breach. Plus, with OBBBA, CMS’s interoperability mandates, and rising specialty drug costs, the stakes have sharpened. This report offers a lens into what’s coming and what leaders must act on now.

Download the Full Report

Learn the five trends restructuring U.S. healthcare through 2026 and understand what they mean for payers, providers, and the wider ecosystem. In the complete report, you’ll:

• understand where the biggest risks and opportunities are emerging so you can make smarter, faster decisions
• learn the strategic priorities leading payers and providers are acting now to stay compliant, competitive, and resilient
• get clarity on where to focus your time, budget, and strategy as AI, cybersecurity, interoperability, and specialty care reform the landscape