Of the 44 problems, 13 are about money and payers and 10 about rules, surveys and audits
Top problems of six kinds of US healthcare organizations, grouped by area. Kent Applied analysis, October 2026.
Show the numbers as a table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Money and payers | 13 problems |
| Rules, surveys and audits | 10 problems |
| Patients, referrals and customers | 8 problems |
| Paperwork and back office | 5 problems |
| Staffing | 5 problems |
| Daily operations | 3 problems |
About the data
- Source
- Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organizationFig. 1 and the explorer: 44 problems, each with a figure checked at its own source
- Method
- Kent Applied picked seven or eight problems for each of six kinds of organizations: health systems, community hospitals, health centers, practices, post-acute and senior care, and health-tech and associations. The problems come from industry reports, federal rules and data, trade group surveys and journals, and one figure for each was checked at its source in October 2026. Each problem sits in one of six areas. Every kind of organization has at least one problem about money and one about rules.
- Published
Free to share and embed with credit to Kent Applied (CC BY 4.0). The source data keeps its own terms.
Facts from this chart
3,567
of 5,121 US community hospitals belong to a health system of any size
3,567 of the 5,121 US community hospitals belonged to a health system of any size in the 2024 AHA Annual Survey, and 1,797 were rural, AHA's 2026 Fast Facts reports. The two counts overlap, because some rural hospitals also belong to a system.
Source: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026.
KentApplied92.3%
of US practice firms with employees have fewer than 20
Of 440,667 US physician, dentist, other health practitioner and outpatient mental health firms with employees in 2022, 92.3% had fewer than 20 employees, by Kent Applied's sum of Census Bureau figures.
Source: Statistics of US Businesses 2022, US and state totals by 6-digit NAICS.
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026 (opens in a new tab).
Related charts
- From research
30 of 44 top healthcare problems need no patient data, in Kent Applied's analysis
Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization; NYC Local Law 144; California Civil Rights Council - From the blog
4 of the 7 practice problems on Kent Applied's map need no patient data
Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization; NYC Local Law 144; California Civil Rights Council - From research
Health care and social assistance firms use AI at about the US rate, half the top sector's
US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (sector estimates); BTOS national estimates; US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (about the survey); US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS descriptions - From the blog
Imaging, insurance checks, charting and billing lead dentists' current and planned AI use
ADA Health Policy Institute, The State of the US Dental Economy, 2nd Quarter 2026 Update
Sources for the figures above: US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (sector estimates) (opens in a new tab); Business Trends and Outlook Survey, national estimates (opens in a new tab).
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