Why healthcare leaders should invest in AI and robotics for operations

Every day, people at leading institutions are implementing AI and robotics, all with the same goal: providing high-quality care, at scale, while managing costs. Surgical robots are ubiquitous now, as is artificial intelligence technology in fields such as diagnostics and radiology.

Cleveland Clinic believes that, to truly build the hospital of the future, we also have to look deeper and use new technology in places the patient may never see. 

There is a tremendous opportunity in healthcare to optimize the inner workings of our systems: improving how goods get from place to place, fostering better communication between care teams and other members of hospital staff, and monitoring the massive amount of inventory that supports every surgery and clinical visit. 

We have created meaningful change by improving processes that often get the least exposure. That is why, in 2025, Cleveland Clinic is expanding its robotics delivery programs to include automated aerial drones made by Zipline. It is one of many ways Cleveland Clinic is embracing AI and robotics to make healthcare more efficient.

The following paper includes three examples of AI and robotics programs Cleveland Clinic has implemented. 

By automating the delivery of supplies, hospitals and health systems save time for workers and improve reliability. 

Since 2008, a fleet of 81 autonomous vehicles has transported food, carried supplies, and supported janitorial staff at the health system’s main campus in Cleveland. These robots transport goods roughly a half mile from the service center to locations across campus. Completing more than 2,500 trips every day, delivery robots have become an integral part of daily life for Cleveland Clinic staff. 

Early feedback has been positive, and early adopters have suggested ways to improve it further. For example, staff members want the option to track exactly when orders arrive, to give feedback about substitute products, and to notify the supply chain team about issues with product availability. Cleveland Clinic is working on addressing these needs in Phase II of the chatbot project. 

A foundation of staff support is critical to the success of the chatbot as Cleveland Clinic builds it for scale. The tool is not only designed to make life easier for staff—fast-tracking supply chain issues through AI—but also to help caregivers focus on patient care by minimizing the time they spend in the system. 

Another way Cleveland Clinic supports staff members is by minimizing the time between when they request inventory and when it is available. Like the chatbot, instant, autonomous delivery will help solve this problem. Rather than overstocking expensive items in case clinicians need them, staff can order supplies they need and receive them within minutes.

Radio frequency identification, or RFID-tagging, has long been used to track supplies in hospitals. Paired with AI-enabled predictive analytics, RFID-tagging can improve hospital supply chain processes—and even prevent issues from occurring at all.

At Cleveland Clinic, we’ve RFID-tagged all implants and valuable items within the system. To make this knowledge actionable, we plug supply chain data into AI-enabled predictive analytics programs that compare the current state with past trends. 

With this technology, we can flag products’ expiration dates, making sure we never use expired supplies in patient care. Should there ever be a recall, we can quickly track down products and remove them from shelves. 

Tracking technology enables us to be proactive, heading off supply chain issues before they occur. For example, we can identify a potential product shortage and diversify our supply chain before an incident that might limit availability. We can compare the demand for a specific product with its country of origin, how critical we believe the product to be for care, and any risks associated with the supplier. This gives us the information necessary to make strategic decisions, such as keeping an extra week’s worth of inventory, or supplementing supply.

Making smart investments in AI and robotics for healthcare requires being open-minded about implementing new technology for processes that are less visible to patients—the day-to-day operations that keep the health system working smoothly. We’re investing in the behind-the-scenes areas of our system because we want our providers to have the tools and resources they need to provide the best possible care.

We’ve listed three examples borne out of that approach and discussed our system-wide goal of building an inherently flexible supply chain designed not only to adapt to—but also benefit from—the fast rate of change that has become normal in healthcare. We hope that the success we’ve seen at Cleveland Clinic with this approach can benefit health systems everywhere.