Trinity Health outsources its IT service desk
ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES — Trinity Health, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States with 92 hospitals across 22 states, is outsourcing its information technology (IT) service desk and applications support to an outside vendor in a phased transition through year-end 2026.
The move is the Livonia, Michigan-based system’s second major outsourcing announcement of 2026.
Financial pressure drives 2nd outsourcing push
Trinity Health had already reduced its revenue cycle management (RCM) workforce by 10.5% in January and moved those functions to an outside partner. The IT service desk decision extends the same strategy to another administrative tier, with the system citing mounting pressure across its 22-state network.
The system attributed the move to compounding financial strain, pointing to “significant reimbursement cuts, low reimbursement that does not cover the true cost of care, critical staffing shortages, and the rising cost of care for underinsured and uninsured patients,” according to its announcement.
Trinity Health also cited the accelerating pace of healthcare technology change as a driver.
Specialized external partners, the system stated, are better positioned to manage evolving IT requirements than a generalist in-house team, a recognition that large health systems cannot build and maintain internal expertise across every IT discipline simultaneously.
IT staff offered roles with vendor
The transition affects Technology and Information Services (TIS) roles providing internal support, specifically the service desk and applications functions. Clinical staff and patient-facing positions are not part of the move.
Trinity Health said the incoming partner will be held to existing standards, stating that “security requirements will not change” and that any vendor must meet the system’s current privacy and compliance obligations.
Affected employees will receive transition support and can apply for positions within Trinity Health or with the incoming partner. The system has not publicly identified the technology vendor, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
For systems managing operations across dozens of states, specialist vendors offer centralized capability that in-house teams struggle to sustain at scale under margin pressure.
Trinity Health’s two-move approach in 2026 mirrors a wider pattern, as business process outsourcing (BPO) partners absorb revenue cycle management, medical coding, prior authorization, and IT service functions at U.S. health systems.
Health systems evaluating these models can compare options through the top healthcare outsourcing companies in the United States. As artificial intelligence (AI) tools accelerate the pace of change in healthcare IT, the case for specialist providers continues to strengthen.
Related news
- U.S. health systems ease IT layoffs, shift to outsourcing · 2 Sep
- Health systems turn to vendors for IT in 2026 · 27 Aug
- Kyndryl to buy Healthcare IT Leaders for AI push · 18 Aug
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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