Artificial Intelligence (AI) was the 2023 “word of the year”, marking the dawn of a new and uncertain era across the globe – especially in health care. AI has the potential to transform the entire primary care landscape, particularly within community health centers (CHCs). While the future of AI in medicine remains unclear, health centers are emerging as pioneers of AI integration to enhance primary care access in underserved communities.
To support the future of health centers and their use of AI in delivering care, Advocates for Community Health (ACH) launched the Emerging Technology Learning Collaborative in Denver on October 5, 2025. Fifteen health center leaders, representing over a million patients in seven states, convened for the series launch, which aims to identify best practices for adopting emerging technologies and uncover opportunities for optimizing patient care.
Throughout the series, participants will hear from industry experts, engage in peer-to-peer learning, and strategize on how to navigate the evolving technology landscape and overcome barriers.
At this first session, participants – including CEOs, COOs, Chief Medical Officers, and other senior leaders – were asked: “What will the future of health care technology & AI look like at your health center in three to five years from now?” The consensus was clear: forecasting even a single year ahead is nearly impossible given the disruptive pace of AI innovation. Still, leaders expressed optimism about AI’s potential to enhance both staff and patient experiences. Anticipated benefits include streamlining patient data collection to effectively “kill the clipboard,” allowing for more meaningful provider-patient interaction. Other enhancements include reducing staff burnout, streamlining autonomous claims and billing processes, and assisting in all facets of care such as screening inboxes to determine patient needs, to pre-screening x-ray results to assist in dental care diagnoses.
A critical component of AI integration is cost. In the current financial climate, eliminating revenue barriers and fiscal sustainability for CHCs is key. However, speakers during the session warned against the monetization of CHC data, encouraging participants to pick and develop AI partnerships carefully.
Future sessions of the Emerging Technology Learning Collaborative will explore:
- Opportunities to leverage technology to better capture and utilize population health data.
- The increasing need for health centers to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure and data management systems.
- Ways technology can support and enhance value-based care arrangements to achieve maximum impact.
- How shifts in federal policy and regulatory requirements may shape primary care technology use and data sharing practices.
The Learning Collaborative will conclude in March 2026, with three virtual sessions planned in the interim. ACH extends its appreciation to eClinicalWorks for their generous sponsorship and partnership in making this initiative possible.
About ACH Learning Collaboratives
Learning Collaboratives are structured, time-bound cohorts that bring leaders together to accelerate improvement through expert guidance, peer sharing, and real-world testing. Instead of each health center innovating alone, participants gain access to collective experience, lessons learned, and practical tools they can implement right away. ACH offers complimentary member Learning Collaboratives annually on a rotating set of high-priority topics. Each series is designed to strengthen operational capacity, inform policy strategy, and advance innovation across the health center community. To learn more, contact us.