By By Dan Hounsell

For as much as the pandemic has upended everything in healthcare, from staffing and personal protective equipment use to HVAC system efficiency, one aspect has been hit hardest of all — the bottom line. One result of the financial impact of COVID-19 is a growing interest in artificial intelligence as a potential source of efficiency and savings.

Ninety percent of hospital executives say they have an artificial intelligence (AI) or automation strategy in place, up from just 53 percent in 2019, according to a survey by healthcare market research firm Sage Growth Partners. COVID-19 is one factor spurring heightened urgency, with 75 percent of respondents saying strategic initiatives around AI and automation are more important or significantly more important in 2021 due to the pandemic, according to Healthcare Dive.

But implementing and scaling AI in hospitals continues to be a challenge, despite the rise in awareness and adoption. The survey includes some of the latest data suggesting a surge in prioritization for such investments, particularly in non-clinical applications as hospitals look to streamline back-end operations to cut costs.