The application of emotional intelligence (EI) has gained widespread recognition across various industries, including healthcare, due to its potential to enhance patient-centred care, quality communication, and stress management. A systematic review employing the PRISMA framework was conducted to extract data from the Web of Science database, while bibliometric analysis was used to gain a deeper understanding of EI's intellectual structure in healthcare. Utilising VOSviewer, co-citation, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling analysis were performed, highlighting the effect of nations, journals, institutions, and authors, and producing thematic clusters. Notably, eminent researchers Neal Ashknasy, Joseph C. Rode, and William H. Bommer contributed significantly to the EI field. The review's findings reveal a dearth of studies on affective computing and artificial intelligence in the EI context, stressing the need for training programs on EI and cultural intelligence for healthcare employees.