Trending toward a better work environment in healthcare

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Safety first: Healthcare workers’ safety concerns is just one of the major trends CENTEGIX found in their latest report. Read the breakdown of what to look out for in 2026.

Welcome to 2026! Hope everyone is settling in alright. (Oh, who are we kidding? You work in the medical field. There’s no such thing as “settling in.”)

But that’s what we’re here to talk about. With the hustle and bustle of the healthcare industry, it’s important to stop and get a pulse check of what’s going on. Not only to see a patient’s BPM but also to keep tabs on healthcare’s biggest trends. Thankfully, CENTEGIX already did the heavy lifting.

Their full Healthcare Trends Report: 2026 takes stock of what healthcare professionals learned in 2025 and what to look for in 2026. But if you have a lot of patients to see and little patience to spare, we’ve got you covered with a nice little recap below.

Looking back

Some of 2025’s biggest healthcare trends include:

• the introduction and scaling of AI
• a worsening burnout crisis
• an escalation in workplace violence

2025, we hate to see you go, but we love to take practical insights from you as you leave. Understanding the year ahead requires a little context from the year before, so before we dive into what’s new, it’s important to take a look in the rearview mirror.

Med tech check

AI coming up in any sector shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s everywhere, and healthcare is no exception. To combat administrative overload, organizations rapidly implemented generative AI tools for clinical documentation, coding, prior authorization, and workflow optimization. This transition promises to successfully reduce manual tasks and return clinical time back to providers.

This does, however, introduce new security and legal risks. Is data safe? Is there algorithmic bias? Is this ethical? Did my doctor reply to my email with ChatGPT? All of these are very important questions and will require a close eye well into the future. As for right now, though, automation of menial tasks is pretty nice.

Burning the candle at both ends

When it comes to burnout, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projected a 10% national RN shortage by 2027, with some regions anticipating gaps of up to 24%. Burnout, rising violence in the workplace, and emotional duress are major contributing factors to this trend. That’s why leading systems invested in workplace safety measures and mental health support.

With 61% of nurses surveyed by AMN Healthcare saying they plan to leave their job within the next 12 months, it’s imperative that this issue is actually dealt with. More on that later, but spoiler alert: CENTEGIX can help.

Safety first

Healthcare workers remain 5x more likely to experience violence than the average US worker, extending beyond EDs and behavioral health units and into nearly every care setting. That stat alone is unsettling, but slowness to act on many leaders’ part is where the real danger lies.

The AHA’s Burden of Violence to U.S. Hospitals report estimated $18.27 billion in annual costs tied to violence, including turnover, workers’ compensation, legal fees, and care for injured employees. Violence is now recognized as a direct threat to quality, safety, retention, and financial stability. Yet many organizations fail to sufficiently prevent it.

Hit the safe button

So healthcare workers already feel burned out. On top of that, they feel like they’re actively in danger at the job that’s burning them out. What do we think will happen next? Well, it’s a no-brainer, but thankfully, the solution is pretty simple.

CENTEGIX is a leader in wearable safety technology, including the CrisisAlert™ wearable duress badge. These discreet, wearable buttons help ensure that if a healthcare worker needs support, they get it fast—anytime, anywhere. From patient rooms and hallways to parking garages. 

Each time someone uses a CENTEGIX badge to signal for help, it initiates an incident report, providing valuable insights into workplace safety vulnerabilities.

Because the duress badge creates reports when activated, they’re able to gather valuable data on when, where, and why these alerts are triggered. Knowing what time of day or when during the week, where in the building, and why healthcare workers trigger these alerts can help build a safer environment based on actual data.

Looking ahead

The challenges that shaped 2025 have become the expectations for 2026. Leaders must become more adaptable, decisive, and bold. Stagnancy will be the biggest detriment to success this year.

The first trend is simply embracing change. Whether that’s with new technology, operations, or strategy, healthcare leaders must stay flexible. It’s a real “if you don’t bend, you break” situation, and no one is looking to break.

Workforce-centric approaches are also expected to be big this year. Balancing safety with privacy and micromanagement and addressing mental health/personal safety concerns aren’t small feats. Especially considering that many RTLS-based duress solutions continuously track staff movements throughout their shift.

And finally, there’s ROI. The thing that keeps any good leader lying awake at night. For safety initiatives, the ability to show reductions in turnover, workers’ compensation claims, and incident severity could be key to securing funding. The new benchmark is clear: If an investment cannot demonstrate measurable financial or workforce impact, it will struggle to gain approval.

Now, if you want to dive even deeper into the healthcare trends of 2025 and 2026, don’t miss CENTEGIX’s Healthcare Trends Report: 2026. It has valuable insights from the CENTEGIX teams, data points to comb through, and more. It’s all for the sake of safety, so better safe than sorry.

Read the full report here.