New Nordic Survey: One in three healthcare AI initiatives is already operational

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

The survey, the first large-scale mapping of AI initiatives in the Nordic region, shows that AI has firmly established itself in healthcare. Roughly one-third of the documented initiatives are in routine operation. Applications of the technology range from administrative support to disease prevention.

Explore the interactive map and learn more about the project at healthmap.newnordics.ai.

Lorna Bartram, AI Transformation Strategist Healthcare at AI Sweden, led and coordinated the project. She views the mapping as clear proof that AI has become a functional component of Nordic healthcare.

AI in Nordic healthcare is no longer just a question of potential. A significant portion of what we have documented is already in daily operation. The question now is how we scale what works so it becomes accessible to everyone, and how we identify applications that truly deliver value.

Lorna Bartram

AI Transformation Strategist Healthcare at AI Sweden

Areas of application: Clinical care and diagnostics lead the way

The Nordic AI Health Map shows that a third of the mapped projects are operational. Examples include speech recognition that frees up time for healthcare staff, image analysis working alongside radiologists across multiple sites, and automated monitoring that reduces manual routine tasks.

The single largest documented AI field in the Nordic region as a whole is clinical care and diagnostics, which also accounts for the highest number of fully implemented initiatives. This is followed by administrative support for healthcare personnel.

Differences between countries are evident across specific application areas. For instance, in stroke diagnostics and breast cancer screening, different countries and regions are at varying stages, some have solutions in daily operation, while others are just getting started. This makes the survey a valuable resource through which anyone starting out in a given field can connect with someone who has already made the journey.

"The core idea is to increase transparency and make it easier for Nordic decision-makers and healthcare organizations to learn from one another instead of solving the exact same problems in isolation," says Lorna Bartram.

Annemieke Ålenius, Chair of the Nordic Council of Ministers' eHealth Working Group and Senior Advisor to AI Sweden and the Swedish eHealth Agency, sees immense value in closer collaboration among Nordic nations.

Development in the AI space is moving rapidly, making strategic foresight and collaboration essential to keeping pace. If we align Nordic efforts and speak with a unified voice, especially as new legislation, such as the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and the AI Act, is put into practice, the Nordics can showcase globally how AI is implemented responsibly in healthcare.

Annemieke Ålenius

Chair of the Nordic Council of Ministers' eHealth Working Group and Senior Advisor to AI Sweden and the Swedish eHealth Agency

Launch at Nordic Summit

The interactive map will launch on August 26, 2026, during the Nordic Conference on AI in University Hospitals at Karolinska University Hospital. The full survey is available to explore on the New Nordics AI website.

Explore the map and learn more about the project at healthmap.newnordics.ai

Fast Facts: The Nordic AI Health Map

The mapping initiative is supported by Danish Regions (Danske Regioner) and CAI-X in Denmark; the well-being services counties through the national SOTE ecosystem led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health alongside UNA in Finland; Stafræn Heilsa in Iceland; the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet) together with the four regional health authorities in Norway; and AI Sweden and the Swedish eHealth Agency (E-hälsomyndigheten) in Sweden.

The survey documents over 800 AI initiatives across publicly funded healthcare in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The framework categorizes projects into eight use cases and three stages: concept, pilot, and routine operation.

Data collection was conducted in the spring of 2026. This release represents an initial version and will continue to be updated and developed throughout the year. The project was made possible through funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers' eHealth Working Group. Visualizations were produced by Datastory.

Explore the map

The Nordic mapping is a continuation of AI Sweden's long-standing work with the healthcare sector both nationally and internationally.

Since 2019, as part of the strategic initiative Information-Driven Healthcare, AI Sweden has supported Swedish healthcare organizations in developing AI solutions.

AI Sweden has also maintained a multi-year partnership with Canadian healthcare provider Unity Health, bringing Swedish and Canadian hospitals together to advance healthcare through AI.

In the spring of 2025, AI Sweden launched Vårdkartan (The Healthcare Map), a national mapping of AI initiatives across Swedish healthcare.