92% of Healthcare Leaders Won't Trust AI at Scale Without Deep Clinical Expertise

New national survey finds adoption stalls for structural reasons, even as organizations see value

SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Carta Healthcare, the leader in enterprise clinical data management, today released findings from a national survey of U.S. healthcare leaders showing that AI is proving its worth but failing to expand, and that leaders will not trust it at scale without deep clinical expertise. In the survey's most lopsided result, 92% said deep healthcare domain expertise is critical when evaluating an AI vendor, with half of all respondents assigning it the maximum possible score. Even where AI has delivered measurable value, 71% of organizations are not expanding it at pace.

The findings reframe a debate that has focused on whether or not AI belongs in clinical settings. The data suggests that question has largely been answered, though adoption stalls for structural reasons. Organizations validate AI in a pilot, see results, and then fail to expand it.

Where does adoption stall?

When asked what slows AI adoption, respondents pointed to operational friction. Difficulty integrating with the electronic health record (EHR) was the top barrier at 44%, followed by lack of executive sponsorship or budget (37%) and competing organizational priorities (33%). Concerns like clinician trust, ongoing cost, and regulatory uncertainty tied far lower at 26% each.

Nearly half of respondents (48%) said a solution that fits inside the EHR would most help accelerate adoption, ahead of peer case studies with measurable outcomes (36%) and followed by vendors willing to assume performance risk (28%). Taken together, the findings indicate that healthcare buyers want proof, not slideware.

"For years the conversation has been about whether healthcare AI is good enough. This data tells us that's the wrong question," said Brent Dover, CEO of Carta Healthcare. "Organizations are seeing value and still can't scale it. The biggest barrier to adoption is whether the technology fits the way their teams already work. When a solution lives inside the EHR and proves itself against measurable outcomes, adoption follows."

Clinicians are driving the decisions

The survey also found that where AI ownership is clearly defined, it sits with clinical leadership (41%) rather than the executive team (19%) or IT (15%). Notably, one in four organizations (26%) reported no clear owner for AI strategy at all, which may help explain why tools struggle to move beyond a single department. That the people closest to patient care are the ones setting the terms also tracks with the survey's most lopsided result.

What leaders demand in a vendor

The 92% are demanding what AI cannot supply on its own. In clinical settings, credentialed clinical judgment is what makes the output trustworthy at scale.

"The survey makes the case for Hybrid Intelligence better than we ever could," Dover added. "Healthcare leaders are telling us that domain expertise is non-negotiable and that AI has to meet clinicians inside their existing workflows. That's exactly the model Carta Healthcare was built on. Clinicians at the helm, with AI as the force multiplier."

The survey findings are available here, including the complete breakdown of what is slowing AI adoption and what would accelerate it.

About Carta Healthcare

At Carta Healthcare, we believe high-quality data is the foundation for better healthcare outcomes. Traditional clinical data abstraction methods are labor intensive, time consuming, and costly. Our Hybrid Intelligence approach combines advanced AI with expert clinicians to deliver accurate, actionable data, reduce costs, save time, and improve efficiency for hospitals and health systems nationwide. With 100% customer retention, Carta Healthcare is honored to serve hospitals and health systems nationwide. Recognized with industry honors such as the Merit Award for Best Use of AI in Healthcare, the CB Insights Digital Health 50, and the BIG Innovation Award, Carta Healthcare is redefining the future of healthcare data management. Discover more at carta.healthcare 

Media Contact:

Supreme Communications for Carta Healthcare

cartahealthcarePR@supremecomms.ai

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SOURCE Carta Healthcare