As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the healthcare industry, providers must address workforce shortages, compliance requirements and tightening margins. To gain insight into how organizations are preparing for these changes, Axxess partnered with Claim Health, DecisionHealth, MAC Legacy, nVoq, and QAPIplus to create the 2026 Axxess Industry Growth Insights Report.
Through a survey, home health, hospice, palliative care and home care leaders shared where they see opportunity, where they see risk and the strategies organizations can use to meet the challenges ahead. The full report can be downloaded here.
Workforce Optimization
Recruitment and retention top the list of challenges for 62.5% of providers heading into 2026, followed by 43.8% struggling with training and upskilling and 28% addressing burnout and mental health concerns. Top strategies include incentives and bonuses, flexible scheduling and technology-driven training.
“Technology-enabled training and AI-enhanced workflows reduce administrative burden, prevent burnout and allow clinicians to operate at the top of their license,” said Raianne Melton, Senior Director of Clinical Services at Axxess.
Regulatory Readiness
Only 18.8% of respondents feel very prepared for upcoming regulatory challenges. Top concerns include changes to the reimbursement model, audit and compliance burdens and quality reporting requirements.
“The partnership between AI and human oversight creates a more agile, proactive regulatory model,” said Christina Andrews, Associate Vice President of Professional Services Partnerships at Axxess. “Real-time tracking and documentation intelligence help agencies reduce risk and improve audit readiness.”
Financial Sustainability
With 59.4% of respondents identifying reimbursement changes as the top barrier to growth, providers are diversifying strategies: 37.5% are pursuing geographic expansion, 34.4% exploring new service areas and 31.3% adapting to value-based care models.
“AI and automation of intake, scheduling, and revenue cycle management allow agencies to scale sustainably without inflating overhead,” explained Andrews.
AI Opportunity
Despite concerns, providers see potential: 54.7% believe AI will drive personalized care, 46.9% see opportunity in chronic disease management and 37.5% are excited about remote monitoring integration.
“AI transforms documentation from a burden into a tool for early risk identification and quality intervention,” emphasized Melton.
Actions for Healthcare Leaders
- Build the Foundation First: Clean up workflows and establish governance before implementing AI.
- Start With High-Impact Use Cases: Focus on chart audits, intake verification, documentation support and scheduling where return on investment (ROI) is clear and risk is low.
- Invest in Your People: Prioritize structured onboarding, continuous training and tools that reduce administrative burden.
- Make Quality Continuous: Move from quarterly compliance to real-time monitoring using AI to identify patterns early and build feedback loops.
- Take a Strategic Approach to Growth: Fix front-end processes, automate administrative tasks, and focus on margin improvement, not just revenue growth.
Download the full report to explore detailed findings, partner perspectives and actionable strategies for success.
Axxess, an ecosystem of cloud-based enterprise software platforms, helps streamline operations and grow care at home organizations.
