Facts
Sourced numbers on healthcare AI, data and operations. Each links to its source. Free to cite.
50 facts
Where AI tools help healthcare organizations, the evidence behind them, and what they cost.
Data warehouses, reporting, dashboards and the people who build them.
Patient flow, length of stay, ED boarding, discharge delays and hospital costs.
UDS reporting, HRSA rules and the patients that community health centers serve.
Medicare and payer rules, payment models such as TEAM, claim denials, hospital margins and federal fines.
43.3%
of US dentists in private practice said they use AI for at least one task, second quarter of 2026
43.3% of US dentists in private practice said they currently use AI for at least one task in their practice, in the ADA Health Policy Institute's poll for the second quarter of 2026. Another 26.4% said they do not use AI but plan to.
Source: The State of the US Dental Economy, 2nd Quarter 2026 Update.
KentApplied32.7M
patients served by HRSA-funded health centers in 2025
Health centers funded by HRSA served 32,746,392 patients in 2025, across 1,356 Health Center Program awardees, in HRSA's 2025 Uniform Data System.
Source: HRSA Uniform Data System, national data, 2025.
KentApplied3,567
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.
KentApplied46%
of nursing staff turned over in 12 months at the median skilled nursing facility
The 12-month rate of nursing staff turnover as of 2024 was 46% for the median skilled nursing facility, MedPAC reported in March 2026.
Source: March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 7: Skilled nursing facility services.
KentApplied41.2%
of US rural hospitals operate in the red
41.2% of US rural hospitals operate in the red, and the median rural hospital's operating margin is 2.0%, Chartis reported in its 2026 study of rural hospitals.
Source: 2026 Rural Health State of the State.
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.
KentApplied40
prior authorizations a week, on average, per physician
Physicians complete an average of 40 prior authorizations a week, which take 13 hours of physician and staff time, the AMA's 2025 survey of 1,000 physicians found.
Source: AMA survey: Prior authorization reform pledge falls short with physicians.
KentApplied13.6%
growth in US hospital drug expenses in 2025
Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, against 7.5% for total hospital expenses, AHA reports from Strata Decision Technology benchmark data.
Source: Costs of Caring 2026.
KentApplied30
of the 44 healthcare problems Kent Applied mapped need no patient data
For 30 of the 44 problems Kent Applied mapped across six kinds of healthcare organizations, the AI tools advised can help without ever reading a patient record.
Source: Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization.
KentApplied27%
of health center patients are best served in a language other than English
27% of HRSA-funded health center patients, 8.8 million people, were best served in a language other than English in 2025, KFF reports from HRSA data.
Source: Community Health Center Patients, Financing, and Services.
KentApplied24.8%
of US health care and social assistance businesses said they used AI between September 7 and 20, 2026
In a Census Bureau survey covering September 7 to 20, 2026, 24.8% of US health care and social assistance businesses said they had used AI somewhere in their business. 23.8% of all US businesses did.
Source: Business Trends and Outlook Survey, sector estimates.
KentApplied38%
of digital health purchasers with performance-based contracts can't independently verify vendors' reported outcomes
38% of digital health purchasers that use performance-based contracts say they cannot independently verify the outcomes vendors report, in PHTI's 2026 survey of health plans, employers and health systems.
Source: Peterson Health Technology Institute, 2026 State of Digital Health Purchasing.
KentApplied4 of 1,539
hospital and surgery pairs where the stay alone exceeds the target
In 4 of 1,539 TEAM hospital and surgery pairs, the hospital stay alone costs more than the 2026 target price, according to Kent Applied's analysis of CMS files.
Source: TEAM position report: where each hospital stands in CMS's TEAM model.
KentApplied38%
of the 2026 target used by the stay
At the median TEAM hospital, the hip or femur fracture stay uses 38% of the 2026 target price, according to Kent Applied's analysis of CMS files.
Source: TEAM position report: where each hospital stands in CMS's TEAM model.
KentApplied20%
of its total target price, the most a Track 3 hospital repays
Under TEAM, a Track 3 hospital's repayment to CMS for a year is capped at 20% of its total target price, per 42 CFR 512.550.
Source: 42 CFR 512.550, Reconciliation process and determination of the reconciliation payment or repayment amount.
KentApplied31
baseline episodes: TEAM's low-volume threshold
CMS holds a TEAM hospital to account for spending over target in a surgery only if it had at least 31 episodes in the three-year baseline.
Source: TEAM Model Overview slides (updated September 2026).
KentApplied716
hospitals in TEAM, on CMS's model page
CMS lists 716 hospitals as participants in TEAM, Medicare's mandatory episode payment model for five surgeries.
Source: Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) model page.
KentApplied5%
of organizations reached production with a generative AI tool
MIT NANDA's 2025 research found that 60% of organizations evaluated custom or vendor-sold generative AI tools, 20% reached a pilot and 5% reached production.
Source: The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025.
KentApplied95%
of organizations getting zero return from generative AI
MIT NANDA's 2025 report found that 95% of organizations were getting zero return from generative AI, despite $30 billion to $40 billion in enterprise investment.
Source: The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025.
KentApplied30%
of generative AI projects to be abandoned, Gartner predicted
Gartner predicted in July 2024 that at least 30% of generative AI projects would be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025.
Source: Gartner Predicts 30% of Generative AI Projects Will Be Abandoned After Proof of Concept By End of 2025.
KentApplied83%
of cases, at worst, models repeated a planted error
Six large language models repeated or built on a fabricated lab value, sign or condition planted in a clinical case in up to 83% of cases, a 2025 study in Communications Medicine found.
Source: Multi-model assurance analysis showing large language models are highly vulnerable to adversarial hallucination attacks during clinical decision support.
KentApplied238
staff hours per annual UDS report, 2025
HRSA estimates that a health center spends an average of 238 staff hours preparing its 2025 UDS report, the yearly report of patient and service data that health centers send HRSA.
Source: HRSA Uniform Data System information collection notice, Federal Register, June 23, 2025.
KentApplied184.2
staff hours per annual UDS report, 2026 estimate
For 2026, HRSA estimates that a health center spends an average of 184.2 staff hours on its UDS report, the yearly report of patient and service data that health centers send HRSA. That is down from 238 hours in HRSA's estimate for 2025, mostly because HRSA removed some lines from the report's tables and merged others.
Source: HRSA Uniform Data System information collection notice, Federal Register, June 16, 2026.
KentApplied72,701
fewer UDS reporting hours a year, nationally
HRSA estimates that total UDS reporting time drops by about 72,701 hours a year for 2026, mostly because it removed some lines from the report's tables and merged others.
Source: HRSA Uniform Data System information collection notice, Federal Register, June 16, 2026.
KentApplied32.4M
patients served by HRSA-funded health centers in 2024
Health centers funded by HRSA served a record 32.4 million patients in 2024, HRSA reports, 1.1 million more than the year before.
Source: HRSA Health Center Program bulletin: HRSA Released New Health Center Data.
KentApplied42%
of executives planned AI documentation by 2026
In a Healthcare Dive and Microsoft survey of 130 healthcare executives, published in March 2025, 42% planned to use an AI tool for clinical documentation by 2026, against 10% using one at the time.
Source: This healthcare AI use case will grow 320% by 2026, survey finds.
KentApplied2 of 6
AI use cases have at least moderate evidence on all three outcomes
Two of the six healthcare AI use cases Kent Applied scored have at least moderate published evidence on clinical, operational and financial outcomes at once.
Source: Where healthcare AI has proof, and where it does not.
KentApplied14 to 20
weeks or more to hire a generative AI data scientist through an internal search
Staffing firm KORE1 estimates that a company recruiting on its own takes 14 to 20 weeks or more to hire a generative AI data scientist.
Source: Time to fill a data scientist role in 2026.
KentApplied66.4%
of CFOs expect a chief AI innovation officer role
In a 2025 HFMA survey, 66.4% of healthcare CFOs said a chief AI innovation officer will become an important C-suite role in the next three years.
Source: The healthcare C-suite of the future: From AI to ROI.
KentApplied2.82
out of 5, CFOs' self-rated preparedness for AI deployment
Healthcare CFOs rated their preparedness for AI deployment at 2.82 out of 5 in a 2025 HFMA survey, the lowest score among the eight named pressures.
Source: The healthcare C-suite of the future: From AI to ROI.
KentApplied$120,230
median annual wage, data scientists, May 2025
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for data scientists at $120,230 in May 2025.
Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Data Scientists.
KentApplied35%
projected job growth for data scientists, 2025 to 2035
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of data scientists to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Data Scientists.
KentApplied$4B
Olive's former valuation
Healthcare Dive reported in November 2023 that Olive, a healthcare AI startup once valued at $4 billion, would shut down.
Source: Healthcare Dive, report on the Olive shutdown (November 1, 2023).
KentApplied11.8%
of claims initially denied in 2024, in Kodiak Solutions' hospital and physician data
Data from the more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 physicians that use Kodiak Solutions' revenue cycle software show that payers initially denied 11.81% of claims in 2024.
Source: Rate of initial denials of medical insurance claims continued to rise in 2024, Kodiak Solutions proprietary data show.
KentApplied16
beds of capacity a day
Five years after it opened, Johns Hopkins said its capacity command center had freed the equivalent of 16 beds a day without building or hiring.
Source: Capacity Command Center Celebrates 5 Years of Improving Patient Safety, Access.
KentApplied30%
faster bed assignment for admitted ED patients
Johns Hopkins reported in 2016 that its new capacity command center assigned beds to admitted ED patients 30% faster.
Source: The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release).
KentApplied54%
of 195 emergency physicians surveyed reported violence tied to boarding
In a 2025 survey of 195 emergency physicians, published in Health Affairs Scholar, 54% reported experiencing violence related to emergency department boarding.
Source: Norton, Schreyer and Kuhn, Workforce impact of emergency department boarding, Health Affairs Scholar 3(8).
KentApplied$1,856
a day per boarded med-surg stroke patient
A 2024 Annals of Emergency Medicine study estimated that boarding a med-surg stroke patient in the ED cost $1,856 a day, against $993 for the same patient on a ward.
Source: Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4).
KentApplied4 hours
of ED boarding before CMS's measure counts it
CMS's Emergency Care Access & Timeliness measure counts admitted patients who board in the ED for more than 4 hours.
Source: CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448.
KentApplied71%
of non-federal acute care hospitals used predictive AI in the EHR
ASTP reports that 71% of non-federal acute care hospitals used predictive AI integrated with their EHR in 2024, up from 66% in 2023.
Source: ASTP Data Brief No. 80: Hospital Trends in the Use, Evaluation, and Governance of Predictive AI, 2023-2024.
KentApplied61%
of hospitals using predictive AI apply it to billing
ASTP reports that among hospitals using predictive AI, the share using it to simplify or automate billing rose from 36% in 2023 to 61% in 2024.
Source: ASTP Data Brief No. 80: Hospital Trends in the Use, Evaluation, and Governance of Predictive AI, 2023-2024.
KentApplied$3.20
self-reported return per $1 invested in AI
Microsoft reported that healthcare organizations in an IDC survey it sponsored averaged a return of $3.20 for every $1 invested in AI, and saw a return within 14 months.
Source: Microsoft, reporting the IDC Business Value of AI Survey (IDC #US51331223, November 2023).
KentApplied35,625
inpatient delay days where finding the patient's next place of care was a cause
In HANYS's 2022 pilot, finding a placement setting, somewhere for the patient to go after the hospital, was a cause in 35,625 inpatient discharge delay days, more than any other cause.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state.
KentApplied$169M
estimated cost of discharge delays at 52 hospitals in one quarter
HANYS found that 52 New York hospitals reported about 60,000 discharge delay days and $169 million in estimated costs from April to June 2022.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state.
KentApplied$2,800
estimated cost per inpatient delay day
Kent Applied divided the $167 million in estimated inpatient costs by the 58,710 inpatient delay days in the Healthcare Association of New York State's 2022 pilot survey, which puts one inpatient discharge delay day at about $2,800.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state.
KentApplied7%
yearly surgical volume growth at one children's hospital
Surgical volume at Cincinnati Children's grew 7% a year for at least two years after it smoothed its elective schedule, Eugene Litvak reported.
Source: Eugene Litvak, Bridging the Gap: Operations Management Science, Patient Safety and Health Care Cost (presentation).
KentApplied$137M
a year, in one 2012 account
In Eugene Litvak's 2012 account, the occupancy gain at Cincinnati Children's resulted in $137 million a year, plus more than $100 million in avoided capital cost for 75 beds.
Source: Eugene Litvak, Bridging the Gap: Operations Management Science, Patient Safety and Health Care Cost (presentation).
KentApplied91%
inpatient occupancy at one children's hospital after it smoothed its elective surgery schedule
Inpatient occupancy at Cincinnati Children's rose from 76% to 91% after it smoothed its elective surgery schedule, Eugene Litvak reported in 2012.
Source: Eugene Litvak, Bridging the Gap: Operations Management Science, Patient Safety and Health Care Cost (presentation).
KentApplied20.2%
rise in average length of stay for patients going to skilled nursing, 2019 to 2022, case-mix adjusted
Adjusted for case mix, the average hospital stay for patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities got 20.2% longer from 2019 to 2022, the American Hospital Association reported.
Source: Patients and Providers Faced with Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges (issue brief).
KentApplied19.2%
rise in average length of stay, 2019 to 2022
Average hospital length of stay rose 19.2% from 2019 to 2022, according to Strata Decision Technology data published by the American Hospital Association.
Source: Patients and Providers Faced with Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges (issue brief).
KentApplied
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Sources for the figures above
- ADA Health Policy Institute, The State of the US Dental Economy, 2nd Quarter 2026 Update (opens in a new tab)
- HRSA Uniform Data System, national data, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 7: Skilled nursing facility services (opens in a new tab)
- 2026 Rural Health State of the State (opens in a new tab)
- AMA survey: Prior authorization reform pledge falls short with physicians (opens in a new tab)
- American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Community Health Center Patients, Financing, and Services (opens in a new tab)
- 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)
- Peterson Health Technology Institute, 2026 State of Digital Health Purchasing (opens in a new tab)
- 42 CFR 512.550, Reconciliation process and determination of the reconciliation payment or repayment amount (opens in a new tab)
- CMS, TEAM Model Overview slides (updated September 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) model page (opens in a new tab)
- MIT NANDA, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025 (July 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Gartner Predicts 30% of Generative AI Projects Will Be Abandoned After Proof of Concept By End of 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Multi-model assurance analysis showing large language models are highly vulnerable to adversarial hallucination attacks during clinical decision support (opens in a new tab)
- HRSA Uniform Data System information collection notice, Federal Register, June 23, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- HRSA Uniform Data System information collection notice, Federal Register, June 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- HRSA Health Center Program bulletin: HRSA Released New Health Center Data (opens in a new tab)
- This healthcare AI use case will grow 320% by 2026, survey finds (opens in a new tab)
- KORE1, Time to fill a data scientist role in 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- HFMA, The healthcare C-suite of the future: From AI to ROI (2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Data Scientists (opens in a new tab)
- Healthcare Dive, report on the Olive shutdown (November 1, 2023) (opens in a new tab)
- Rate of initial denials of medical insurance claims continued to rise in 2024, Kodiak Solutions proprietary data show (opens in a new tab)
- Capacity Command Center Celebrates 5 Years of Improving Patient Safety, Access (opens in a new tab)
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release) (opens in a new tab)
- Norton, Schreyer and Kuhn, Workforce impact of emergency department boarding, Health Affairs Scholar 3(8) (opens in a new tab)
- Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4) (opens in a new tab)
- CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448 (opens in a new tab)
- ASTP, Data Brief No. 80: Hospital Trends in the Use, Evaluation, and Governance of Predictive AI, 2023-2024 (September 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Microsoft, reporting the IDC Business Value of AI Survey (IDC #US51331223, November 2023) (opens in a new tab)
- HANYS, The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state (2023) (opens in a new tab)
- Eugene Litvak, Bridging the Gap: Operations Management Science, Patient Safety and Health Care Cost (presentation) (opens in a new tab)
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Achieving Hospital-wide Patient Flow, 2nd edition (2020) (opens in a new tab)
- American Hospital Association, Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges issue brief (December 2022) (opens in a new tab)
Each fact was checked against its source on the date it shows. Free to share and embed with credit to Kent Applied (CC BY 4.0).
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