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TRIMEDX Report Urges Health Systems to Turn AI Pilots into Measurable Operations

  • By John K. Waters
  • 04/28/2026

Key Takeaways

  • Health systems should start AI adoption in administrative and operational areas, where results are easier to measure, and risks are lower than in direct patient care.
  • Governance, data standards, vendor diligence, and model transparency are critical to moving AI from pilots to enterprise use.
  • Supply chain resilience, equipment uptime, and change management are becoming core operational priorities as health systems face persistent disruption.

Health systems looking to use artificial intelligence should begin with operational problems that can be measured, governed, and scaled, rather than moving too quickly into higher-risk clinical uses, according to a new industry report from TRIMEDX.

The Indianapolis-based clinical asset management company released its 2026 report, "From Possibility to Performance: How Health Systems Can Operationalize AI, Strengthen Resilience, and Lead Through Change," on April 28. The report draws on input from health system leaders and focuses on how providers can move AI projects from pilots to day-to-day operational use.

The report comes as hospitals and health systems face pressure to improve efficiency, reduce downtime, strengthen supply chains, and evaluate a growing number of AI tools. TRIMEDX said the main challenge is not whether AI has potential, but whether health systems have the governance, data practices, and change management needed to use it responsibly.

“Health care is particularly vulnerable to AI-driven disruption due to its heavy reliance on human labor, vast data volumes, and slow adoption of technological advancements,” Eric Larsen, president emeritus of The Advisory Board and president of TowerBrook Advisors, said in the report.

TRIMEDX said health systems should set clear standards for data use, vendor review, model transparency, and human oversight. The report also recommends that AI tools be designed to support experienced teams rather than replace judgment.

One of the report’s central recommendations is to start with administrative and operational functions, where outcomes are easier to measure, and risks are generally lower than in direct patient care. Examples include equipment visibility, repair workflows, uptime management, inventory planning, and capital spending decisions.

The company said broader, higher-quality datasets are important to those efforts. Health system executives cited in the report said aggregated and varied datasets can produce more reliable operational insights than narrow data sources.

Supply chain resilience is another focus of the report. TRIMEDX said health systems are placing more emphasis on continuity, transparency, redundancy, disruption monitoring, and inventory visibility, rather than managing supply chains primarily for cost.

The report also argues that culture will determine whether AI and other operational changes succeed. Transparent communication, peer advocacy, and disciplined execution can help teams adopt new tools and standardize workflows, while poor early experiences can slow adoption.

“A poor first experience can set adoption back months. Trust builds faster when AI behaves like an assistant, not a supervisor,” TRIMEDX Chief Technology Officer Steven Martin said in a statement.

TRIMEDX said health systems using its clinical asset management tools have reported more than 99% equipment uptime, more than 31,000 hours of prevented unplanned downtime, up to 20% savings in baseline clinical engineering operating expenses, and up to 35% capital expense deferral without compromising patient care.

The company said the report is intended to give health systems practical guidance on AI governance, supply chain resilience, and leading teams through operational change.

TRIMEDX provides clinical engineering services, clinical asset informatics, and medical device cybersecurity. The company says its platform uses data on 90% to 95% of in-use medical equipment in the United States.

About the Author

John K. Waters is the editor in chief of a number of Converge360.com sites, with a focus on high-end development, AI and future tech. He's been writing about cutting-edge technologies and culture of Silicon Valley for more than two decades, and he's written more than a dozen books. He also co-scripted the documentary film Silicon Valley: A 100 Year Renaissance, which aired on PBS.  He can be reached at [email protected].