Healthcare executives detailed the benefits of collaboration and described how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve care delivery at the annual JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco earlier this month. More than 150 health systems attended the event, which took place Jan. 12-15, according to Fierce health care.
4 takeaways from the conference
1 | AI can significantly improve clinical care.
Providers are moving away from deploying AI for administrative tasks and are now turning to using technology to directly improve patient care. In interviews at the conference, health system leaders described these clinical applications of AI, according to Modern healthcare.
- Thanks to a AI-assisted solution that analyzes electrocardiograms, The Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., can identify life-threatening heart conditions in patients who don’t have obvious symptoms. Mayo has also developed an AI-based diagnostic tool that can recognize pancreatic cancer three months to three years earlier than human radiologists and a AI-powered stethoscope this may sound the alarm about peripartum cardiomyopathy in pregnant and postpartum patients.
- By deploying AI and predictive analytics to alert clinicians about the first indicators of infection, Tampa General Hospital (Florida) reduced its 48-hour mortality rate for sepsis patients by 68% between 2022 and 2025.
- Advocate Health, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, improved security by installing AI-enabled sensors and cameras in patient rooms to prevent falls.
- The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio leveraged AI to increase the precision of quantum computer simulations, allowing the provider to predict the effectiveness of treatments and medications.
- Detroit-based Henry Ford Health used AI to predict patient reactions to medications based on genetic information.
Additionally, at the conference, health technology company Tempus announced alliances with NYU Langone Health in New York and Northwestern Medicine in Chicago to advance precision medicine for cancer patients, according to Fierce Healthcare.
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2 | Agentic AI could counteract the shortage of healthcare workers.
- Nvidia: Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at tech giant Nvidia, described 2025 as “a watershed year for agentic AI” – which Google Cloud defines as advanced AI capable of acting autonomously.
- World Health Organization: With the World Health Organization predicting a global shortage of 11 million healthcare workers by 2030, these AI solutions can provide vital support, Powell told attendees.
“Health systems around the world are recognizing that they can start hiring these agent systems and platforms essentially as digital collaborators to close this extreme gap that we have in terms of health services and the number of health professionals,” she said.
3 | Virtual and in-home care are gaining ground.
Some healthcare officials have cited growing demand for virtual and at-home treatments. Here are some examples.
- ChristianaCare: ChristianaCare, based in Wilmington, Delaware, plans to move care home through skilled nursing home programs and home hospitalization, Janice Nevin, MD, president and CEO of the health system, told conference attendees, as Modern Healthcare reports.
- Teladoc Health: The company announced the expansion of its 24/7 urgent care services, according to Fierce Healthcare. The New York-based virtual care provider has added the ability to treat conditions such as sleep problems, hair loss, and back and joint pain.
- Aveanna Health: Atlanta-based home healthcare provider Aveanna Healthcare plans to make acquisitions of home healthcare companies in the Southeast and Midwest United States, according to Modern Healthcare.
4 | Joining forces with other providers can improve financial stability and improve care delivery.
Health system leaders also spoke about the benefits of merging and partnering with other providers, according to Fierce Healthcare. For example, Lawyer CEO Eugene Woods said his system created 23,000 new jobs and achieved $1.5 billion in annual operating savings after merging with the nation’s third-largest nonprofit system. As a result of the merger, Advocate also improved the quality of care: The number of hospitals in the system with an “A” safety rating from LeapFrog increased to 24, up from five last spring.
Additionally, Bob Garrett, CEO of New Jersey-based Edison Meridian Health Hackensack, advocated for expanding and improving care through partnerships with nontraditional providers: He told conference attendees that his health system intends to add outpatient services through these types of alliances, Modern Healthcare reported. Hackensack Meridian plans to open 20 primary care clinics in New Jersey in collaboration with Amazon One Medical and has partnered with K Health to provide virtual primary care.