By Crista Stark Jarrard, partner and chief growth officer
EVENT: McGuireWoods Healthcare GO (Growth Operations)
WHERE & WHEN: Charlotte, North Carolina | September 15-16, 2026
Investors, healthcare executives and business partners brought insightful perspectives to conversations spanning leadership, M&A, site-of-care shifts, AI, workforce challenges and the future of healthcare. Here are a few takeaways.
The M&A and Lender Environments Likely Remain Steady
Although significant capital remains sidelined, the market has recovered, if somewhat unevenly, from its downturn. M&A activity has increased steadily since 2025, and experts expect the next 12 to 18 months to look similar, with an incremental uptick in 2027 buoyed by a busier-than-normal summer.
This year, add-ons seem to be driving most of the deal activity and buyers remain intensely focused on asset quality, including strong teams, infrastructure, reimbursement and growth prospects. AI is creating some market hesitancy, and businesses with tech-enabled solutions carry more perceived risk than traditional services businesses. As a result, some investors are pausing on heavily tech-enabled companies because disruption risk is harder to assess. Investors and lenders will prize companies with strong, disciplined operations and steady growth over companies relying on financial engineering to create value. Meanwhile, private credit is gaining ground because it is faster and easier to secure than bank credit. However, a downturn may dampen the private credit market.
AI Adoption and Deployment Trends
Panelists included representatives from healthcare services MSOs, investment firms, policy organizations and AI solution providers. Conversation was robust around where AI has made the biggest impact – ambient AI scribe for physician documentation, processing documents, answering phone calls and revenue cycle management. The ambient scribe was cited as the single biggest AI impact on physician burnout. Leaders are also focusing on how point solutions connect and on AI stack composition – such as AI layered onto Epic to improve physician experience and reduce costs.
Panelists observed that the pace of AI development has been “almost reckless in general but too slow in healthcare.” Regardless, governance is a significant focus that healthcare providers must get right.
When asked to identify one decision healthcare CEOs should make immediately to enhance AI adoption, panelists commented:
- Leaders must ensure that there are enough resources surrounding implementation and training.
- Leaders who invest in targeted change management resources will see more effective adoption and realize synergies more quickly.
- Leaders should chart a measured path, invest in partners along the journey who can help assess and navigate cultural considerations in addition to the technical components.
Leadership in Healthcare
A fascinating talk on leadership in healthcare yielded the following lessons learned from a tenured oncology services executive:
- Tell your story over and over again to inspire and build trust with stakeholders.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of having support at the top to make the moves you need to make.
- Ensure you’re constantly measuring impact on access to care, stakeholder experience and employee engagement.
- Deploy AI deliberately, using a clear roadmap and data to measure impact, communicate wins and build alignment.
- Listen more to earn trust and create stakeholder alignment. This also makes it easier to deliver the tough messages that inevitably come.
- In addition to the required technical skills, seek leaders who demonstrate humility, good judgment and resilience.
Talent & Workforce
Clinical workforce shortages continue to pressure many healthcare services organizations, and recruiting alone won’t solve these issues. Leaders must create capacity by optimizing the mix of APPs and making room for all roles to operate at the top of their license.
The latter requires both a cultural shift and behavior change – plus strong communication.
Given this context, healthcare leaders are naturally focused on employee engagement and voice-of-the-employee listening mechanisms aimed at retention. Creating leverage through AI in meaningful ways to reduce burnout and improve efficiency is also critical to addressing these inherent pressures. In addition, generational expectations related to flexible scheduling, control over schedules and other value-added characteristics have risen in importance. As workforce shortages intensify, providers must take a creative, flexible approach to workforce challenges to preserve capacity and access to care.
- Healthcare continues to evolve, rapidly. We all know this, but the rate of change is exponential and impacting everything from policy and reimbursement rates to technology and patient expectations. Rural providers must continue to be agile, decisive and willing to rethink old approaches in order to succeed.
- Healthcare is local. We say this all the time, but the conference reiterated the increasingly important role of local politics, community relationships and regional realities. While strong relationships in Washington D.C. matter, don’t underestimate the importance of your state legislature, local elected officials, large employers and other community leaders and advocates. They’re often trusted voices.
- Unprecedented environments require unprecedented solutions. Traditional approaches to growth, workforce, care delivery and community partnerships may no longer be enough. Many rural providers are being forced to think differently and more creatively about sustainability and access. This trend is reflected in the Rural Health Transformation Program, which has awarded funding to innovative projects designed to improve rural health.
- AI is no longer theoretical. Rural health systems and hospitals are actively exploring how AI can improve efficiency, advance care and solve for the workforce needs that are unique to rural communities. Rural providers need to consider how to share their AI story both inside and outside their organizations in a way that builds trust and affirms human connection.
- There’s power in breaking bread. Some of the most meaningful conversations can be the simplest activity. In a rapidly changing and highly polarized environment, sitting down for a meal can be a highly effective way to build and strengthen relationships and move things forward.
- The narrative needs to change. The narrative around rural health care must change. Too often, rural health systems are defined by financial pressures, workforce shortages and concerns about sustaining specialty services. While these challenges are real, they do not define rural hospitals. Rural health systems do not need to be told how to solve their problems; they need the resources and funding to implement the solutions they have already developed.
What do these trends mean for your organization?
The conversations may have spanned M&A, AI, leadership and workforce, but a common thread emerged: execution requires alignment, discipline and thoughtful change. Connect with our team to discuss how your organization can prepare for what’s ahead.
