Every year, the World’s Best Smart Hospitals ranking by Newsweek and Statista recognizes hospitals that lead the way in digital innovation and medical technologies. We take a closer look at the solutions the 2026 winners are implementing – and what makes them stand out.
Europe lags behind the U.S., but mind the different health systems
This year, the top ten was once again dominated by American institutions, including the Mayo Clinic (Minnesota), Cleveland Clinic (Ohio), Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), Mount Sinai Hospital (New York), MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston), and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York).
In eighth place, the first European institution appears: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany. Sheba Medical Center in Israel ranked ninth.
But Europe has nothing to be ashamed of. The list includes more than 100 hospitals from across the continent. Per capita, the highest number of smart hospitals can be found in Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Critics of the ranking note that inclusion requires completing a survey or being nominated by a panel of experts. The dominance of U.S. facilities also reflects the global reputation of many American medical centers and the widespread use of the EMRAM system, which measures digital maturity and is considered an advantage during the evaluation process. While filling out the survey itself is free, institutions must pay to use the “World’s Best Smart Hospital” label.
What technologies do smart hospitals use?
According to the report's publishers, a smart hospital is “a highly technologically advanced facility integrating artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, telemedicine, and electronic health records (EHR) to improve patient care and hospital efficiency.” We looked into which technologies smart hospitals are implementing most frequently.
Artificial intelligence is, unsurprisingly, at the top of the list. In healthcare facilities, AI analyzes data and supports clinical decision-making, suggests treatment options, and automates the management of electronic medical records. Cleveland Clinic even operates its own IBM quantum computer for medical research.
The hospital has also piloted AI systems for generating medical notes, so-called AI scribes. The results are promising: 80% of physicians reported that AI reduced documentation time, allowing them to spend more time talking with patients.
At MD Anderson Cancer Center, predictive algorithms personalize cancer treatment plans by analyzing data from patients’ electronic records, increasingly including genomic information. Many leading institutions in the U.S. are also implementing AI assistants to analyze medical images or provide early warnings about potential patient deterioration.
The second technology highly ranked in the evaluation is telemedicine and remote medical care. This category includes online consultations, remote patient monitoring, and virtual emergency rooms.
Some institutions have ambitious plans. For example, Charité aims to have 50% of visits take place remotely by 2030. To support this goal, it is developing patient portals and integrating data from wearable devices. The hospital, Europe’s largest university medical center, is currently transitioning to a new EHR system from the American company Epic.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic uses AI to support remote triage in emergency departments, and Houston Methodist provides broad access to specialist teleconsultations. Telemedicine is increasingly becoming the standard in rehabilitation and postoperative monitoring.
Smart hospitals also rely on robotics, particularly in surgical procedures using systems such as da Vinci. But an increasing number of facilities are also adopting robots for logistics and hospital pharmacy automation.
Another defining feature of smart hospitals is a high level of digitization and advanced information systems. Leading institutions have standardized electronic medical records and invest heavily in data infrastructure, often cloud-based, to enable big data analysis and the deployment of AI solutions.
Mayo Clinic has been a role model of innovation for years
The Mayo Clinic has held the No. 1 position in Newsweek’s ranking for years, dropping to second place only once, in 2025.
The institution consistently implements what it calls a “digital front door” strategy to improve the experience of patients who interact with the hospital virtually. Patients can access treatment information online, schedule appointments, view test results through the patient portal, and discuss next steps in teleconsultations.
Launched in November 2025, the proprietary AI platform Mayo Clinic Platform Insights helps other hospitals – especially those without their own analytics teams or large data resources – use AI to improve patient care, operational efficiency, and digital transformation.
As Mayo Clinic Platform Chief Operating Officer Maneesh Goyal explains: “When we share knowledge, we make better decisions – both in diagnosis and treatment. This program allows us to share our experiences and help other institutions improve the quality of care.”
According to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Clarke Otley, technology should support doctors rather than complicate their work. For that reason, Mayo Clinic has followed a strict policy for several years aimed at minimizing the number of clicks required to operate IT systems and integrating clinical data into unified platforms.
This means, among other things, that the organization integrates new digital features within a single hospital information system rather than introducing standalone applications that require separate workflows. As of early 2026, the facility was running more than 200 pilot implementations of AI systems.
How to become a smart hospital? vision and courage matter
Let’s be honest: smart hospitals usually have the resources to implement cutting-edge technologies. But the path toward becoming an innovative healthcare institution starts much earlier, with a clearly defined digital strategy.
The most digitally advanced hospitals treat technology as part of a long-term development plan. Recognizing that the future lies in artificial intelligence, they invest in modern cloud-based data infrastructure and develop integrated electronic medical record systems.
High-quality, structured data then makes it possible to implement new AI models, for example, tools that generate medical documentation or predict patient outcomes.
Beyond technology, smart hospitals also focus on building an organizational culture that supports innovation. Leading institutions create interdisciplinary teams comprising IT specialists, physicians, and managers who collaborate to implement new solutions, establish innovation centers, and run staff training programs.
Structured data also allows hospitals to monitor the impact of digital investments in real time. Smart hospitals continuously analyze clinical indicators, measure patient experience and staff satisfaction, and evaluate treatment outcomes.
This not only improves care but also strengthens their position in the healthcare market, making them attractive destinations for researchers, physicians, and patients alike.
