Connected healthcare: The latest on AI, data, and finding the right technology

ViVE 2025 brought together some of the most influential voices in healthcare to explore how digital transformation is reshaping the industry. It was exciting to engage with leading payers and providers and hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities they face. 

The healthcare industry generates a staggering 30% of the world’s data volume, according to a report by RBC. Yet most of that data remains untapped due to poor organization, unclear use cases, and a lack of resources to manage and analyze it effectively.  

Our experts help clients solve these challenges every day, and ViVE provided valuable insights into how healthcare organizations can unlock the full potential of their data to improve patient care and operational efficiency.  

Here are our top four takeways from ViVE 2025. 

Connected experiences (or lack thereof) 

Healthcare has long lagged behind other industries in digital advancement—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The industry’s stringent security requirements and the need to serve every population, including those with limited digital access, have made progress more complex. 

But the gap is growing. Every healthcare organization operates at a different digital maturity level, depending on their geography and patient base. 

Despite these challenges, many providers are ready to evolve but need help defining their vision and optimizing their tech stack. The organizations we spoke with said they’re using up to nine different technologies to communicate with the same patient. That’s nine systems tracking the same interactions—leading to disjointed experiences for both patients and providers. 

Centralizing patient data is essential to creating a seamless experience. Patients shouldn’t feel like they’re starting from scratch every time they reach out. 

This is where Horizontal’s philosophy of Connected Experiences excels and why it was the focus of our presentation, Adopting Connected Digital Experiences to Improve Patient Engagement & Outcomes. 

The need for smarter, faster content management 

Another major gap we observed was the lack of a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform. Large payer and provider systems are managing massive amounts of content—everything from provider images and location details to critical policy documents and training materials. 

Take a business-critical policy document, for example. If it needs to be updated annually, it should be stored in a system with access controls, version history, workflow approvals, and automated publishing schedules. Without a robust DAM, managing these assets becomes a time-consuming, error-prone process. 

This is where Sitecore Content Hub can transform healthcare operations. A connected DAM system allows organizations to store and organize assets efficiently, ensuring the right content is always accessible and up to date. AI-powered automation takes it further, streamlining the process of tagging, distributing, and even translating content—saving valuable time and resources. 

AI for efficiency 

This one is no surprise. AI was a named priority in every conversation we had. Most healthcare organizations are wanting to incorporate AI into internal processes: workflows, remote patient monitoring, clinical documentation, LLMs, etc. The top takeaway: healthcare is ready for AI.  

For now, AI platforms and use cases will add the most value through optimizing workflows and processes at healthcare organizations. 

Re-evaluating your intranet 

One unexpected hot topic at ViVE was intranet strategy. Providers are focused on improving their internal employee experience—and it’s easy to see why. In a world where medical professionals are in high-demand, health organizations need to provide them an easier way to access and find internal files. And – sorry Microsoft – there is a whole world out there beyond SharePoint!  

Too often, intranet search is frustrating and inefficient. Employees are often going to your intranet to find something, and you need to serve them their content quickly and easily. Intranet search is a common challenge for today’s payers and providers. 

Our solution? Use an enterprise CMS for your intranet. Many organizations don’t think about the fact that you can use the same technology to serve both your internal and external users. Not only does this save you on technical costs, but it can make providing best-in-class experiences much easier when it’s all centralized. 

What platforms are providers and payers using the most?  

Epic

Epic remains a dominant player in patient management, with many organizations using its CRM tool, Cheers. Epic is great for tracking existing patients, but onboarding/tracking new patients can be a challenging and manual process. Integrating a dedicated CRM would simplify this workflow and improve the patient experience. 

ServiceNow

 ServiceNow is becoming increasingly popular in healthcare for more than just ticketing. Providers and payors are using it for traditional ticket management, disaster recovery and business continuity, workflows, and for intranet management. Its AI-driven capabilities make it especially appealing. 

EDWs

Most payers and providers are utilizing Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) like Snowflake and Azure to store and process massive amounts of patient data. We’re talking tens of millions of patients annually. However, there is still progress to be made in terms of where the data goes from the EDW and what is done with it. 

Moving healthcare forward 

ViVE, a offered a powerful glimpse into how healthcare organizations are grappling with digital transformation. The need for connected experiences, streamlined content management, and AI-driven insights is clearer than ever. 

Horizontal is at the forefront of this transformation, helping healthcare organizations create more seamless, intuitive, and efficient experiences. If you’re ready to move your digital strategy forward, let’s start a conversation.