The AI Staffing Hurdle
CIOs face a staffing challenge that makes AI adoption both urgent and complicated. Agentic AI agents hold promise, but most organizations lack the resources to build or maintain them. Workforce shortages, burnout, and rising labor costs compound the difficulty. In fact, 82 percent of leaders cite staffing challenges as the primary driver behind the adoption of generative AI.
Healthcare executives often view AI as a lever for administrative efficiency—streamlining prior authorizations, alleviating EHR burdens, and supporting overworked staff. However, here’s the disconnect: while 80 percent rank operational optimization among their top priorities, only 63 percent feel ready to execute it. CIOs must close that readiness gap by building infrastructure and governance that allow GenAI to scale safely.
Since labor typically accounts for around 60 percent of hospital expenses, leaders expect AI to trim administrative FTEs—such as schedulers, assistants, and middle managers—without replacing physicians or nurses. Meanwhile, 74 percent of executives see technology as a tool for professional growth and retention. In effect, CIOs must treat AI agents almost like employees. Placing them in the org chart may be the only way to secure the budget, visibility, and recognition needed to sustain this shift.
The Budget Tug: CIOs, CFOs, and the Money Question
Staffing isn’t the only hurdle. CIOs also struggle to find budget for AI and other innovations. As this article from HealthLeaders emphasizes, “new technology and innovation come with a price tag” in a climate where health systems operate on razor-thin margins.
Too often, innovation projects fall to the bottom of the priority list simply because other IT demands—such as maintenance, legacy systems, and compliance—consume the lion’s share of funds. CIOs report dedicating more than 75 percent of their budget to operational expenses, up substantially from previous years, which leaves little headroom for capital investments.
That dynamic makes collaboration with the CFO essential. CIOs must build alliances across the C-suite, especially with finance leaders, to make AI projects comprehensible, fiscally responsible, and aligned with organizational strategy. The CFO can play a pivotal role—not just as gatekeeper of budgets, but as a partner who forecasts the hidden liabilities of temporary fixes and champions dedicated allocations for AI and technology refresh cycles.
AI projects need to be held to the same financial rigor as other capital investments. That means defining key performance indicators (KPIs), establishing ROI thresholds up front, and designing pilots with clear exit criteria. The CFO’s oversight in pilot evaluations is critical to ensure that projects don’t spiral into uncontrolled cost centers.
Moving Forward: Redefine, Govern, Collaborate
In conclusion, healthcare CIOs stand at a critical inflection point. As agents of change, they must:
Redefine staffing and talent strategy — Treat AI agents as part of your workforce, build new roles and pathways, and invest in upskilling.
Establish governance and infrastructure — Develop policies and technical guardrails so AI scales safely and ethically.
Forge stronger CFO relationships — Present AI initiatives as financial opportunities, not expenses, tying them to strategic goals, ROI, and risk management.
Coordinate across the C-suite — Ensure the technology strategy aligns with clinical and financial leadership, avoiding silos that can doom projects before they even start.
Adopting AI in healthcare is no longer optional—it’s inevitable. But doing it with intentionality will distinguish organizations that win sustainable value from those that chase buzz without impact. As CIOs lead this transition, they will define the trajectory of the healthcare industry’s digital future.