AI: Hype, hope, or hard ROI?

It’s the hope that kills you, so the saying goes. AI in healthcare has become a blank canvas: miracle cure for the workforce crisis, silver bullet for drug discovery, antidote to burnout. But lofty promises don’t pay the bills. Investors, providers and patients are starting to ask the same question - where’s the proof? For AI to live up to its potential, the conversation has to move from possibility to performance, from glossy headlines to real outcomes. The OECD has reported workforce efficiencies of 15%. The FDA released a discussion paper advocating for the use of AI in drug discovery. Just 30 days of scribe usage were shown to reduce burnout from 52% to 38% in one study. In the end, it won’t be the hype or the hope that matters, but the hard numbers.