ViVE 2026 recap: From promise to proof in healthcare

Healthcare conference season is in full swing, kicking off with JPM 2026 (check out our takeaways here). Recently, the ViVE meeting gathered healthcare executives, digital health leaders, and solution partners in Los Angeles, with the refreshing directive to move beyond flashy technology toward measurable results.

The ViVE conversations weren’t about whether AI, automation or digital platforms belong in healthcare, but rather what works, what it costs, how quickly value shows up, and what leaders need to do to deploy, govern and scale responsibly. The realities facing healthcare leaders are showing the results, the ROI, and the proof in the pudding.

Two themes defined ViVE 2026:  

1. AI grows up (and gets judged on ROI)

It’s no surprise that AI dominated the show floor and agenda, but ViVE organizers emphasized that the market is moving on from the hype cycle of promise and entering the phase of practical evaluation and impact.

• In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive before the event, HLTH President Rich Scarfo described how conversations are shifting from adopting AI to showing how they’re using AI to solve problems such as staffing shortages and burnout.
• Modern Healthcare’s Joyce Famakinwa wrote about ambient documentation and the end of “scribe mania” as health systems embrace other AI tools. This “prove it” moment incorporated leaders sharing insights of how they’re using AI and the value and return they’re seeing throughout the ecosystem, including Medical Mutual of Ohio, which has implemented AI to manage member services.
• Forbes contributor Edward Chou noted that for CIOs and decision-makers, the focus will be on integrating AI into core operations while ensuring it is governed responsibly.

2. Advanced technology in the workplace still needs human touch

Multiple ViVE sessions focused on how automation, AI and digital workflows intersect with clinical practice.

• Speakers stressed that nurses need sustained involvement in the design, implementation and governance of new technology. Teta Alim of HealthTech Magazine shared that the consistent message from nursing and clinical leaders is that adoption fails when tools are developed for bedside teams rather than with them.
• During a panel with nursing leaders, there was pushback on the idea that technology is a substitute for nursing practice. The criticism wasn’t anti-technology; it was a call for realism about what AI can and can’t do and for aligning messaging on patient safety and clinical accountability.
• Beyond clinical documentation, ViVE conversations returned to operational load, such as prior authorizations, revenue cycle, service management, and other tasks that absorb labor. There were several vendors who used the conference to announce platforms aimed at embedding operational workflows closer to the EHR and laying the foundation for automation.

What does this mean for healthcare leaders?

• AI is an operating model change, not a software add-on. Build governance, measurement, and workflow ownership around a small number of priority use cases. Consider building a 90-day AI value plan by picking a workflow, defining baseline metrics, and requiring vendors to show evidence tied to those metrics.
• Co-design with healthcare professionals. Adoption accelerates when frontline and bedside teams have a voice in shaping requirements, implementation strategies, and safety guardrails. Leaders must formalize clinician-led insight to review safety, accountability and change strategies before scaling tools to the ecosystem.

ViVE 2026’s message was consistent: transformation isn’t about chasing the newest technology to check the box, it’s about deploying the right technology with the right clinical partnership, at the right time, and with the right accountability for outcomes.