Healthcare’s AI ROI Enters Era of Scaled, High-Stakes Growth

Healthcare organizations are moving from pilot projects to enterprise-scale deployment of artificial intelligence as hospitals automate high-volume workflows and expand digital capacity.

Along with that expansion comes the possibility of improved patient care and outcomes.

“Healthcare ROI isn’t just about efficiency,” Aashima Gupta, global director of healthcare strategy and solutions at Google Cloud, told PYMNTS in an interview. “It is about creating the conditions for better care. When clinicians are supported, patient outcomes improve naturally.”

According to Google Cloud’s ROI of AI in healthcare and life sciences report, which was released Oct. 16, 44% of healthcare and life sciences executives said their organizations have adopted AI agents in production, and 34% said their organizations have launched more than 10 AI agents.

The findings indicate a sector entering a new stage of adoption that blends efficiency, equity and governance.

Google Cloud’s report found that healthcare executives increasingly define ROI not only by cost reduction but by improved outcomes and accessibility. Tech support and patient experience saw the highest ROI from AI agents at 34% each.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization projected a shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030, mostly in low- to middle-income countries.

Additionally, the World Economic Forum reported in January that global medical costs are projected to rise by double digits for the third year in a row, with estimates suggesting an average increase of 10.4%. However, AI and other technological advances are revolutionizing patient care, and AI-driven diagnostics have the potential to reduce treatment costs by up to half and improve health outcomes by 40%.

Governance and data protection are emerging as the defining variables of success. Thirty-seven percent of healthcare and life sciences leaders cited data privacy and security as their top considerations when selecting large language model providers, according to the Google Cloud report. Organizations with clear governance frameworks and executive sponsorship are more likely to report measurable ROI, with 80% of those institutions showing positive returns.

“We have to be very careful in how we position AI in healthcare,” Gupta said. “It is not about diagnosis. AI is not ready to be a doctor, and we discourage that.”

Trust depends on verifiability and auditability.

“Trust means you can verify what the system says is true, you can audit it, and you know what data it accessed,” she said.

The World Economic Forum found that while AI is helping doctors spot fractures, triage patients and detect early signs of disease, healthcare is “below average” in its adoption of AI compared to other industries.

“Cyberattacks already cost healthcare hundreds of millions annually,” Gupta said. “Without strong security, introducing AI could actually expand the attack surface.”

Beyond administrative efficiency, the next phase of AI deployment is shaping research, discovery and patient engagement. Google Cloud’s report showed that 72% of healthcare and life sciences executives reported improved productivity from AI, and 61% reported improved patient experience.

The World Economic Forum found that telemedicine, wearable devices and integrated digital platforms are helping expand healthcare access in underserved regions. These trends mirror the 83% of health and life sciences organizations that reported estimated revenue growth from AI of 6% or more.

Technology and ambition are now aligned, Gupta said.

“The agentic paradigm is catching on faster than expected,” she said. “Everyone who tried one wants to try 10. That is a good sign for confidence in AI, but it means we need stronger governance to match.”

As adoption accelerates, the focus must shift to execution and accountability, she said.

“Security has to be secure by design,” she said. “Trust starts with your infrastructure, your partners and your patient interactions.”

Healthcare’s digital transformation is now being shaped as much by the institutions deploying AI as by the technologies themselves. The convergence of automation, governance and patient-centered design is redefining what ROI means in healthcare.

“Healthcare moves at the speed of trust,” Gupta said. “Technology moves by the minute, but trust takes years to build.”

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