On Oct. 13, Heywood Healthcare declared a Code Black.
The term describes a serious security problem, such as an armed person or a bomb threat, but in this case, the healthcare system’s two hospitals in North Central Massachusetts had been hit by a cyberattack.
The emergency department was closed to all patients arriving by ambulance, the HIPAA Journal reported.
Ambulances were diverted to other facilities due to the inability to access certain systems, while radiology and laboratory services were also disrupted.
This incident calls attention to the importance of cybersecurity, and analysts believe it will be one of several key issues facing the healthcare industry in 2026.
In 2024, the protected health information of more than 276 million people was exposed or stolen—more than double the volume from the year before, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) breach portal.
“Data breaches and cybersecurity attacks aren’t just a technical issue, but a risk to every facet and function of a healthcare organization—and patients have the most to lose,” the data analytics firm Definitive Healthcare said in a recent report.
Cyberattacks are a threat to an entire healthcare organization.
Analyst: Healthcare at turning point
A breach can expose the private information of patients, cause delays and disruptions to care, and may even result in declining loyalty and satisfaction in a provider.”
Rather than continue labeling cybersecurity as an IT issue, Definitive Healthcare said, “leaders are treating it as a patient safety issue, and a core component to delivering great patient care.”
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“The shift is already taking shape, and we’ll see it continue to gain momentum throughout 2026,” the firm said.
Artificial intelligence is also expected to play a greater role in healthcare in the coming year, according to the tax and accounting firm EY.
“As we enter 2026, the health sector is at a turning point,” Kim Dalla Torre, EY’s global and Americas health sector leader, said in a statement. “Health leaders are facing unprecedented pressures as well as unique opportunities to evolve their business models.”
“Tomorrow’s leaders will prioritize leveraging AI and deploying innovative talent strategies while focusing on financial resilience.”
EY said that it is important for the healthcare sector to establish proactive guidelines and guardrails for agentic AI, which operate autonomously with minimal human intervention.
The firm emphasized the need to establish proactive guidelines and guardrails for agentic AI, focusing on safe implementation and creating checkpoints to validate outputs, along with providing educational resources for patients and clinicians.
“AI is streamlining payer claims adjudication by enabling faster, automated decisions when data is missing and increasing processing speed and volume, while also reducing fraud through quicker detection of improper claims,” EY said.
The healthcare system is facing a significant and worsening labor shortage across many roles, including nurses, physicians, and support staff, due to such factors as an aging population, provider burnout, and retirements.
The World Health Organization is projecting a shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030, primarily affecting low-income nations, though all countries will feel the impact.
Working to avoid burnout
“Providers need to make the most of their staff without undercutting care,” Definitive Healthcare said. “That starts with supporting current staff to help them remain productive and avoid burnout.”
Automating administrative work using AI and other software tools can lower staffing costs and keep workers focused on the highest-value tasks, the firm said.
Related: Fraudsters using variety of weapons, including AI, to target victims
Dominic King, vice president of health at Microsoft AI, said that we’ll be seeing evidence of AI “moving beyond expertise in diagnostics and extending into areas like symptom triage and treatment planning.”
“Importantly, progress will start to move from research settings into the real world, with new generative AI products and services available to millions of consumers and patients,” King said.
Access to care is a global crisis, Microsoft said, noting that the World Health Organization projects a shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030—a gap that leaves 4.5 billion people without essential health services.
The rapid aging of the U.S. population will continue to shape healthcare demand and expenditures in 2026.
Definitive Healthcare said this will lead to increasing adoption of aging-in-place strategies, blending remote monitoring, home health technologies, and expanded caregiver networks.
In 2026, healthcare executives will also need to adapt and prepare for federal funding cuts that threaten Medicaid coverage for over 10 million individuals.
“These shifts will reshape market dynamics and transform healthcare delivery, pushing providers and payers to streamline operations and rethink traditional models to better serve patients,” EY said.