The $1 Trillion Healthcare Shift: What CIOs Must Do Now
Healthcare sits at a breaking point. Rising costs, clinician burnout, aging populations, and fragmented delivery systems have pushed the industry to a crossroads. However, new research from PwC reveals that disruption also presents opportunities: by 2035, $1 trillion in annual healthcare spending is expected to shift from outdated, brick-and-mortar models to digital-first, consumer-centered care.
The Drivers Behind the Trillion-Dollar Shift
PwC’s survey of 4,000 U.S. adults underscores the urgency. Patients are frustrated by administrative complexity and rising costs. Many are digitally fluent and willing to embrace new models, from virtual visits to AI-driven monitoring. At the same time, payers and providers cannot sustain an 8% medical cost trend year after year.
The old cost pools—physical facilities, heavy administrative overhead, fragmented data systems—are ripe for disruption. Instead, dollars will flow into virtual care, in-home services, predictive monitoring, and AI-enabled workflows.
Why CIOs Are at the Center
Technology makes this transformation possible, but leadership makes it real. CIOs must architect the systems that power predictive analytics, data integration, and virtual engagement. The role extends beyond infrastructure; it touches strategy, consumer experience, and risk governance.
PwC highlights several imperatives:
Data Orchestration: Physicians will act as data-driven decision-makers, but CIOs must deliver real-time platforms that feed those insights.
Consumer-First Design: Patients expect healthcare to mirror the convenience of other industries. CIOs need to make digital front doors seamless, transparent, and accessible.
Workforce Support: AI can automate documentation and triage tasks, allowing clinicians to spend more time on patient care. CIOs must deploy these tools at scale, not just in pilots.
Equity Guardrails: Without intentional design, digital health could widen disparities. CIOs must ensure access and usability across all populations
The Risk of Inaction
Every CIO knows the cost of delay. Waiting for perfect clarity around regulation, reimbursement, or vendor maturity only compounds risk. The HHS crackdown on data blocking shows how quickly compliance pressure can rise. At the same time, consumer expectations shift faster than legacy systems can adapt.
Failing to act risks not only financial loss but also reputational damage. Health systems that cannot provide digital access, flexible care, and integrated data will fall behind competitors and lose the trust of their patients.
What Leaders Should Do Now
To capture the upside of this trillion-dollar opportunity, CIOs must take concrete steps today:
Build a Digital-First Roadmap: Move beyond pilots and commit to scalable platforms for telehealth, AI scribes, and virtual assistants.
Redesign Data Governance: Ensure interoperability, quality, and security in a world where consumer privacy precedents evolve rapidly.
Measure Impact in Workforce and Outcomes: Tie technology investments directly to reducing clinician burnout and improving chronic care adherence.
Forge Ecosystem Partnerships: Collaborate with payers, medical technology companies, and technology firms to extend capabilities and share risk.
Elevate the CIO Voice: Position technology strategy as central to boardroom discussions on cost, growth, and consumer trust.
The Bottom Line
PwC’s projection of a $1 trillion spending shift by 2035 should be a wake-up call. Healthcare organizations cannot meet this future with legacy systems and siloed operating models. CIOs must step forward as the architects of change—leaders who don’t just keep the lights on but reimagine how care gets delivered, consumed, and financed.