Transformative promise and implementation challenges: Health care managers' perceptions and experiences of artificial...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technological development that offers new opportunities for managing health care services.

To identify and synthesize the best evidence on health care managers' and other professionals´ experiences and perceptions of the utilization of AI in management.

A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology using a convergent integrated approach, including qualitative and quantitative data synthesis followed by thematic analysis. A systematic search was conducted in January 2025 in Ovid Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, ProQuest and Medic, limiting studies between 2016 and 2025 and written in English, Swedish, or Finnish.

The results were reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). A total of 16 studies from 10 countries were included, comprising 11 qualitative and 5 quantitative studies. Of the participants, 90% were health care managers, and 10% were other health care professionals, such as nurses, physicians, and developers. The thematic analysis identified five themes reflecting participants' perceptions and experiences: AI as a transformative mechanism, organizational enablers and outcomes of AI utilization, AI-supported operational and risk management efficiency, strategic financial benefits and long-term value creation through AI, and data-driven opportunities and challenges in AI utilization for health care management.

Health care managers should strengthen AI-related competencies, data governance, and organizational readiness to support effective AI implementation. Leadership practices that foster innovation, workforce engagement, and responsible data-driven decision-making may help organizations realize the operational and strategic benefits of AI.