Why your next strategic healthcare hire in 2025 should be a tech visionary

Forget everything you know about healthcare’s chief information officer, because in 2025, the role will be unrecognizable.

Healthcare organizations need a new kind of leader, one who does more than manage information or even keep technology systems running. They need a strategic technology visionary who can make sense of thousands of competing solutions, from automated phone systems to AI diagnostics while understanding their implications for patient care, cybersecurity and the bottom line.

Today’s healthcare technology landscape is bewilderingly fragmented. Walk the aisles of any healthcare trade show and you’ll find dozens of applications, technologies and software solutions, each promising to solve single, specific challenges: revenue cycle management, purchasing, budgeting, inventory control and capital depreciation tracking. What’s missing is the translator — someone who can evaluate these options and guide organizations.

Remember when electronic health records first emerged? Hundreds of providers competed in the space. Today, only a handful of dominant players remain. The same consolidation will likely happen across other healthcare technology segments. Organizations need someone who can predict these industry shifts, understand which vendors will survive and plan technology investments accordingly.

Beyond traditional IT

The tech visionary role isn’t about hardware on desks or software updates. It’s about asking the following questions:

• How will this new technology integrate with our existing systems?
• What happens if this vendor gets acquired or goes under?
• Is our staff ready to embrace this change?
• How does this fit into our long-term technology road map?

Look at what’s already possible: Small physician practices can automate everything from vaccine documentation to collections, operating with minimal support staff while maintaining quality care. One practice can run effectively with just two support staff, using automated systems for everything from patient check-in to medical records requests.

Traditional healthcare leadership paths haven’t prepared executives for these decisions, yet they’re becoming more important than ever to organizational survival.

The new healthcare capital isn’t concrete

Healthcare organizations have historically measured their financial health through metrics like average age of plant, focusing on physical assets like buildings and medical equipment. But in 2025, we need to reconsider how we think about capital investment.

The new healthcare capital is digital. It won’t be about building new wings in hospitals or buying the latest MRI machine — it’ll be about investing in technology that makes operations more efficient and patient care more effective.

Healthcare leaders will need to rethink their entire approach to capital planning. Traditional capital investments come with clear depreciation schedules and financing options. A building might last 30 years, an X-ray machine perhaps 10. But software requires constant updates, regular maintenance and frequent evaluation against newer solutions.

Healthcare needs someone to plan for this type of rolling investment, one that banks don’t typically finance but that’s becoming more necessary for operational success. We’re also still far from an ideal state where electronic health records seamlessly integrate with financial systems or where data flows smoothly between labs, clinics and patient portals. Organizations are investing in specialty connectors to bridge these gaps, but we’re still in an “in-between” phase, waiting for true open AI integration.

Market forces and consolidation

Healthcare delivery is also shifting. Medicare Advantage plans are reshaping how care is both delivered and reimbursed, creating new challenges for providers. While these plans often offer lower costs for patients, they can significantly impact provider reimbursement rates.

Mental health services are in unprecedented demand — even digital platforms struggle to meet patient needs. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased demand for mental health services. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that 74% of psychologists reported seeing more patients with anxiety disorders in 2021 compared to 2020, and 60% saw more patients with depressive disorders.

The future of telehealth is uncertain, though, as reimbursement policies evolve. Remote care is essential for reaching rural populations and improving access, so the industry should prepare for either outcome: extended telehealth reimbursement or a return to primarily in-person care.

Private equity is also reshaping certain segments, particularly in areas with repeatable procedures like ophthalmology or orthopedics. Yet notably, primary care — perhaps healthcare’s most crucial foundation — is resistant to private equity’s efficiency-driven model. The tension between standardization and personalized care will only grow as healthcare races toward consuming 20% of GDP.

Consolidation is underway, particularly in senior living, where merger and acquisition activity has reached historic highs. In 2022, the number of publicly announced senior housing and care acquisitions rose to 527 deals, marking a 17% increase from the 450 transactions disclosed in 2021. This trend continued into 2024, with the third quarter recording 175 transactions, a nearly 35% increase compared to the same period in 2023. When annualized, this activity is on pace to set a new annual record of 700 transactions, surpassing the previous high of 599 transactions set in 2022.

And it’s not just bigger organizations swallowing smaller ones — it’s about reaching the minimum scale required to afford the infrastructure and leadership needed for modern healthcare delivery.

How do we manage the aftermath, though? How do you standardize operations across facilities using different financial systems? How do you maintain local care quality while achieving economies of scale? The answers point back to technology and the leadership needed to implement it effectively.

How should healthcare evolve in 2025?

Healthcare organizations should prepare for several shifts:

1. The human element of technology adoption: While automation can handle tasks like prescription management and medical record transfers, it’s not about replacing staff; it’s about allowing them to focus on patient care. When physicians can dictate notes instead of typing them and automated systems handle routine phone calls, healthcare providers can return to what matters most: face-to-face patient interaction.
2. Workforce dynamics: As baby boomers retire from healthcare leadership positions, a new generation is stepping in, one that’s less encumbered by traditional ways of working. While they may lack decades of experience, they bring fresh perspectives on technology adoption and operational efficiency. This generational shift, combined with strategic technology investments, could finally crack the code on delivering efficient, patient-centered care.
3. Integration challenges: Healthcare still operates in silos, with various systems struggling to communicate effectively. Whether it’s electronic health records talking to financial systems or lab results flowing to patient portals, achieving true connectivity is a work in progress. Organizations must plan for this reality, investing in solutions that bridge these gaps while remaining flexible enough to adapt as integration technology improves.
4. Healthcare economics: Traditional levers of cost control won’t be sufficient. Strategic technology adoption that improves both operational efficiency and patient outcomes will be needed. Organizations that master this balance, led by visionary technology strategists, will shape the future of healthcare delivery.

How Wipfli can help

In 2025, healthcare organizations need both seasoned healthcare expertise and innovative technology solutions to thrive in an unrecognizable and complex landscape. Success requires more than just implementing new systems — it demands strategic vision and careful integration.

Wipfli can help. Our healthcare industry knowledge and technology consultants can help you evaluate technology investments, develop digital transformation strategies and implement solutions that enhance both operational efficiency and patient care. Learn more about our healthcare services.