2026 Environmental Scan

Implications for the coming year and beyond

The 2026 AHA Environmental Scan offers invaluable insights into the latest data and emerging trends, empowering the health care field to plan strategically for the future. The scan gives us the chance to reflect on the challenges we face and the opportunities that await us. This annual publication serves as a catalyst for meaningful conversations among hospital and health system leaders, boards, staff and community stakeholders as we collectively shape the future of health care.

Topics include:

• Hospital and health system landscape: Trends in U.S. hospitals and health systems, including capacity, evolving care delivery settings and quality improvement progress.
• Financial landscape: National economic trends, hospital financial pressures and consumer affordability.
• Workforce: Turnover and vacancy rates, well-being and employment growth projections.
• Innovation and technology: Artificial intelligence trends, remote patient monitoring and the digital health market.
• U.S. demographic shifts: Population changes, aging, maternal mortality and generational differences and their impact on health care.
• America’s health check-up: Chronic disease prevalence, behavioral health and health behaviors affecting national health outcomes.

Also Available:

The 2026 Environmental Scan Leadership Discussion Guide helps hospitals and other stakeholders use the scan to strategize and think about key issues.

An AHA member-only PowerPoint presentation is designed to help share 2026 Environmental Scan insights with various stakeholders and your community.

The AHA Health Care Workforce Scan will help you better understand the latest forces and trends affecting health care human resources. This resource provides workforce insights to guide your organization forward during this time of continued transformation.

Explore AHA Data through DataQuery AI, powered by insights from over 6,200 hospitals and 400 health care systems, to uncover trends and benchmarks that inform strategic decisions.

The AHA’s Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) offers a deep dive into key forces that are transforming the future of health care through Futurescan.