Rising patient acuity. Aging demographics. Tight margins. Artificial intelligence (AI) moving from buzzword to workflow tool.

Medical Economics sat down with Shannon Sims, M.D., Ph.D., FAMIA, chief product officer at Vizient, and Matthew Bates, M.P.H., managing director at Kaufman Hall, to talk about Vizient's 2026 State of the Industry Report and what it calls a "reset" moment for U.S. health care.

Sims and Bates explain how AI is already reducing documentation burdens through ambient listening and revenue cycle automation, why access has overtaken staffing as the defining operational challenge and how advanced practice providers (APPs) are reshaping team-based care as physician shortages persist.

Register now for Physicians Practice's Practice Academy event: Practice Management Track, on March 19, 2026, from 1:00 PM-5:00 PM EDT: https://registration.physicianspractice.com

Music Credits:
Cherry Blossom Memories by Cephas - stock.adobe.com
A Textbook Example by Skip Peck - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

0:00 — Cold open
Can AI help return the joy to medicine — and improve the economics of practice?

0:34 — Intro and Practice Academy note

2:01 — Introducing Vizient and Kaufman Hall

2:12 — What does a “reset” in 2026 really mean?
AI moving from hype to workflow, and the growing role of advanced practice providers.

3:59 — How AI is changing day-to-day physician work
Ambient listening, documentation and automation.

4:46 — Patients are sicker — but outcomes are improving
Quality gains despite rising case mix.

7:03 — The aging population and care coordination challenges
Who becomes the “quarterback” for complex patients?

8:50 — Rising costs per employed provider
Why physicians are working harder but margins remain thin.

10:36 — APPs now make up 40% of employed providers
What effective team models look like — and where they can go wrong.

13:01 — P2 Management Minute

13:52 — Labor, drug and supply cost pressures
What smaller practices can realistically do.

15:01 — Fewer big hospital mergers, more targeted partnerships
Governance, ownership and alignment risks.

16:28 — AI beyond the hype
Revenue cycle, clinical decision support and the need for a human in the loop.

18:27 — What should small practices be watching right now?
Access, patient experience and payer mix realities.

20:15 — One practical takeaway for physicians in 2026
Embrace digital tools and fix access bottlenecks.

22:00 — Final reflection
Can AI restore professional satisfaction and extend careers?

23:00 — Outro

S1 Ep126: Health care's reset, with Shannon Sims, M.D., Ph.D., and Matthew Bates, M.P.H.

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