Challenges and priorities of the Spanish healthcare sector

Achieving a more efficient, personalized and value-based model with the help of AI is the main challenge facing healthcare professionals in Spain.

A survey of 100-plus healthcare professionals attending the 31st Healthcare Sector Meeting, led by professor Nuria Mas, identifies the key transformation priorities for a system facing an aging population, chronic conditions and resource pressures. The goal is to achieve profound changes that increase operational efficiencies, strengthen preventive capacity and boost the value delivered to patients.

According to the survey, 31.7% of respondents consider their top priority to be moving toward a value- and results-based model as opposed to the traditional volume-based approach of more tests and procedures. Meanwhile, 29.8% emphasize the importance of providing more personalized and preventive care, while 27.9% see improving operational efficiency as key. Other aspects, such as overcoming biases in diagnosis and treatment (5.8%) or maximizing the impact of artificial intelligence (4.8%), currently generate considerably less interest.

This shift in approach — from reactive to proactive, from mass care to personalized care — requires new capabilities, new tools and a shared vision among all stakeholders. “Although AI is not at the top of the list of immediate priorities, its role is essential in enabling this shift,” says Mas.

The survey confirms this. Thirty percent of respondents primarily use AI for analyzing medical data to improve diagnoses and treatments, which supports a more preventive and efficient approach. This is followed by process automation (27%), support for healthcare professionals’ decision-making (17%) and protection of patient privacy (13%). However, economic barriers that limit AI adoption persist, as expressed by 13% of respondents.