AI Adoption in Hospitals Shows Promise for Care but Exacerbates Access Inequities

While artificial intelligence and robotic systems are increasingly adopted by hospitals, showing associations with improved time-sensitive care outcomes (e.g., a 5.4% relative decline in 30-day pneumonia mortality), their diffusion remains uneven. Large, digitally mature health systems are adopting these technologies first, leaving many rural communities further from AI- and robotics-enabled care and highlighting significant geospatial inequality in access.