30 of 44 top healthcare problems need no patient data, in Kent Applied's analysis
Top problems of six kinds of US healthcare organizations, by whether an AI tool for them needs patient data. Kent Applied analysis, October 2026.
Show the numbers as a table
| Category | Needs no patient data | Needs patient data for part of the work | Needs patient data from the start | No AI tool advised | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health systems | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Community hospitals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Health centers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Practices | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Post-acute and senior care | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Health-tech and associations | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
About the data
- Sources
- Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organizationFig. 4 and the explorer: the tools for each of the 44 problems and the data each one reads
- NYC Local Law 144 (opens in a new tab)Department of Consumer and Worker Protection page on automated employment decision tools: the yearly bias audit
- California Civil Rights Council (opens in a new tab)Rulemaking actions: employment regulations on automated-decision systems, effective October 1, 2025
- Method
- The 44 problems and their classification are Kent Applied's own. A problem counts as needing no patient data when every tool advised for it reads only contracts, policies, staff records, public data, websites or summary reports, with no patient identifiers. A problem needs patient data for part of the work when the first step needs none and a later step reads claims, referral packets or patient lists. It needs patient data from the start when the first useful step reads patient records, claims or patient-level days. One problem, hiring for small practices, has no AI tool advised: AI that ranks job applicants needs a yearly bias audit in New York City and falls under California rules on automated decision systems.
- Published
- Updated
Free to share and embed with credit to Kent Applied (CC BY 4.0). The source data keeps its own terms.
Related charts
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Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization; NYC Local Law 144; California Civil Rights Council - From research
Of the 44 problems, 13 are about money and payers and 10 about rules, surveys and audits
Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization - From research
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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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