Bringing Joy Back to Healthcare: The Power of Responsible Partnerships

Healthcare is at an inflection point. Clinicians are overwhelmed, patients expect more, and the confusion of traditional solutions is making things worse, not better.

As 2025 draws to a close, I can’t help but think about the unprecedented uncertainty plaguing the healthcare landscape and what steps need to be taken. People are living longer, and as complexity increases, so does the need for quality care. Inflation and cost increases, looming Medicaid cuts, and shifts in reimbursement threaten the future performance of medical practices, hospitals, and health systems. Clinicians continue to spend excessive and unnecessary time on numerous administrative tasks, so it’s no surprise that rates of burnout and workforce shortages continue to rise.

According to a Google Cloud study conducted by Harris Poll, clinicians spend nearly 28 hours per week on administrative work, while employees spend an average of 34-36 hours. Research reports that record keeping, insurance forms and prior authorizations contribute to more than 80% of clinician burnout and reduce patient time for eight in 10 providers.

While we continue to talk about advanced tools like artificial intelligence and agent workflows to ease the burden and increase efficiency, technology alone is not enough. For organizations to build future-proof, sustainable business models, and for industries to undergo real, meaningful transformation, new ways of sharing risk and driving accountability are necessary. I believe responsible partnerships are the best way to change the system.

cost of administrative tasks

No one would argue that technology has not advanced healthcare, but with it has placed more burdens and tasks on clinicians in a system that has become outdated, fragmented and inefficient.

When we think about the daily work of a clinician, tasks fall into two categories: core work and heavy chores. Core mission is the essence of why clinicians first entered medical school and why they continue to do what they do every day—care for patients. Chores, on the other hand, are important tasks such as revenue cycle management, documentation, coding, population health, digital health, and ensuring the right data is entering the EHR at the right time.

While these chores are necessary, they add no value to clinicians or patients and only lead to stress and burnout. In fact, according to the Physicians Foundation, 60% of physicians report experiencing frequent burnout, and 31% say they are overworked and overworked.

Medical staff shortages are only adding to the pressures faced by clinicians, and nothing seems to be changing. A Harris poll shows that more than half of frontline healthcare workers plan to change jobs in 2026, and McKinsey reports that six in 10 doctors may leave clinical practice entirely. But it is vital to recruit and retain a healthy, caring and technologically advanced workforce to care for our people.

If we want to chart a new path forward, we must consider what we ask clinicians to do and how much of it they do. One in five doctors said they spend more than eight hours outside of regular business hours working on electronic medical records. These tasks have an impact on their time and the meaning of their work. Ultimately, meaningless work is degrading.

If clinicians don't have to do certain tasks, and certain tasks don't have to be done in the exam room, then they shouldn't do it. Research shows that nearly 20% of clinical time is spent on tasks that can be handed over to non-physician personnel or technology. When these critical tasks (but not required tasks for healthcare providers) are offloaded, clinicians have fewer chores and can focus on their patients.

Technology can solve tasks such as dispatch, insurance verification and prior authorization. It can be a “great enabler” for increasing efficiency, optimizing reimbursement, reducing burnout and improving the patient experience. However, technology alone is not enough to solve healthcare problems.

Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer, but even efficient tools require skilled expertise

Artificial intelligence adoption continues to rise, and now smarter agent AI is available. In 2024, more than 66% of doctors will use artificial intelligence, a 78% increase from the previous year. Artificial intelligence is enabling a shift from reactive to proactive, for example, agent-like AI, when properly trained, can only help ease the workload of care teams and staff.

Traditionally, organizations have turned to point solution providers, but these vendors operate in silos and fail to deliver the value needed to truly transform healthcare. Organizations must leverage existing technology, consider adding new tools, and integrate them smartly into workflows to save clinicians time. Striking a balance between technology and highly skilled talent can reduce administrative burdens and address staffing shortages.

Looking to 2026 and beyond, healthcare leaders must consider new ways to bring joy and meaning to healthcare, improve care and efficiency, and build financially sustainable organizations.

Responsible partnership models are gaining traction

Now is the time for organizations to make strategic decisions that have an immediate and long-term impact on their business. Healthcare organizations are no longer the only ones who bear all the risk and suppliers bear all the value. They must align their models around outcomes rather than just technology and capabilities – this can be achieved through new accountable partnerships built on care support platforms.

These partnerships:

• Relieving clinicians of administrative chores
• Improve operational efficiency and care delivery
• Align both parties on performance metrics and revenue goals and share accountability for results

Accountable partnerships enable clinicians to focus on patient care and core missions, increase operational efficiency, and allow both parties to work together while sharing risks to ensure success.

For years we have been discussing and proposing solutions in an effort to solve health care problems, but nothing has had a meaningful impact. If we truly want to see change, we must share responsibility, accountability, and work together to improve clinicians, patients, and the system as a whole.

Photo: mikdam, Getty Images

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