The U.S. spends more than twice as much on healthcare as other wealthy countries, yet faces worse outcomes, according to a recent report.
As the report’s title, “Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System,” suggests, the U.S. health system is failing when using five measures — access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity and health outcomes — to compare it against nine other developed nations.
The report’s analysis exposes a system in crisis, but the true weight of this crisis is felt in the daily realities of care.
Hospitals and health systems are struggling to keep up with rising demand for care, especially in specialties like radiology where labor shortages and increasing workloads are creating critical backlogs, with some health systems reporting imaging backlogs of several weeks.
This is where the report’s failing grades become a human tragedy, and it’s precisely this reality that demands a transformative solution.
Fortunately, the market is signaling a clear path forward. Recent data confirms a strong public belief in the U.S. that clinical AI will be a powerful tool for physicians, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and improving patient outcomes.
Health system executives are also demonstrating strong confidence in clinical AI’s ability to transform patient and physician experiences within the next few years. This conviction is validated by data showing 73% of health systems have implemented robust governance for strategic clinical AI deployment, and 73% of organizations are increasing their financial commitments.
Both reflect the growing recognition among health leaders that scalable, enterprise-wide AI solutions capable of running multiple applications simultaneously deliver greater clinical benefits than isolated point solutions.
This mindset shift was noticeable at several recent industry events, including the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, ViVE and the European Congress of Radiology. Panel speakers described how clinical AI has moved from a nice-to-have to a central strategy for their organizations to address some of the healthcare industry’s most pressing challenges.
One clear signal of this shift were comments from health leaders that they’re increasingly allocating strategic reserves to adopt AI solutions. This highlights the urgency in finding solutions to physician shortages and the critical role clinical AI can play in helping to alleviate pressures impacting quality of care.
Scaling AI in healthcare isn’t merely a technical endeavor; it’s a strategic one. Health systems that embrace AI as a fundamental part of their strategy from the top-down will lead in quality, efficiency and financial sustainability.
For executives evaluating their AI strategy, the key takeaway is this: Think big, plan for scale and move decisively. By embracing clinical AI strategically and at scale, the U.S. healthcare system can transition from one that’s failing, to one that reflects the promise of modern medicine with better patient outcomes. The time to act, as the report’s findings underscore, is now.
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1. Votek, M. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Transformative Potential. https://www.customertimes.com/blogs/artificial-intelligence-in-healthcare-transformative-potential
2. Define Ventures. (2025). Define Ventures Health Tech Exit Report. https://www.definevc.com/insights/report-health-techs-defining-decade
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