Separate 2026 Black Book benchmarks rank Nordic Consulting first in the United States and KPMG UK/EPR Alliance first in the UK/NHS as health systems redirect investment toward workflow redesign, clinician productivity, post-live support and governed AI

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2026 / Healthcare organizations on both sides of the Atlantic are shifting electronic health record investment away from broad, replacement-first programs and toward improving the clinical, operational and financial performance of systems already in production, according to two Q3 2026 studies from Black Book Market Research.

The separate U.S. and UK National Health Service benchmarks each evaluated 20 consulting firms each against 18 qualitative performance indicators. Across the two reported research frames, the studies incorporate 1,240 qualified executive inputs and 290 provider-client exposures involving implemented, substantially live or post-go-live electronic health record projects. (Electronic health record, or EHR, is the term most commonly used in the United States; electronic patient record, or EPR, is more frequently used in the United Kingdom._

Transatlantic Buyers Are Converging on the Same Priorities

Despite significant structural differences between the U.S. provider market and the UK National Health Service, the research identifies a closely aligned set of investment priorities.

EHR and EPR optimization and clinical workflow redesign were identified as the highest-urgency consulting requirement by 90% of U.S. respondents and 92% of UK/NHS respondents. Clinician burden, adoption and usability improvement reached 88% in both markets.

Demand for post-go-live accountability was similarly consistent. Stabilization, application support and sustainable operating models were identified as high-priority requirements by 82% of U.S. respondents and 84% of UK/NHS respondents.

Clinical leadership and governance also emerged as critical buying criteria. In the United States, 79% of respondents rated clinical governance and physician or nursing leadership as high or critical. In the UK, 83% rated clinical safety and clinical leadership as high or critical.

Benefits tracking beyond go-live was required by 68% of U.S. buyers and 70% of UK/NHS buyers, indicating that providers increasingly expect consulting partners to demonstrate clinical, workforce, access, productivity and financial outcomes for at least 90 to 180 days after implementation.

"The commercial center of gravity in healthcare IT consulting has moved from installing technology to proving that technology works in daily care," said Doug Brown, founder of Black Book Research. "Across two structurally different health systems, buyers are asking for the same outcomes: lower clinician burden, safer workflows, more reliable operations and measurable value that continues after go-live."

Nordic Consulting Leads the U.S. Benchmark

In the U.S. provider EHR optimization, workflow redesign and selective implementation benchmark, Nordic Consulting ranked first with a Q1-Q18 mean of 9.71, securing seven number-one KPI positions. Chartis ranked second with a mean of 9.43 and four number-one KPI positions, followed by Huron at 9.30, Impact Advisors at 8.92 and Divurgent at 8.86.

The U.S. results indicate that providers are rewarding consulting firms that combine platform expertise with clinical workflow redesign, clinician adoption, post-live stabilization, revenue-cycle integration, data usability and demonstrable accountability.

Nordic's leading positions included EHR optimization breadth, clinician experience, application managed services, production reliability, patient-access workflow, data and AI governance, and trust and benefits proof. Chartis led several implementation-control measures, including diagnostics, program control, build and testing, and cutover readiness.

KPMG UK/EPR Alliance Leads the UK and NHS Benchmark

In the UK/NHS EPR optimization benchmark, KPMG UK/EPR Alliance ranked first with a weighted mean of 9.57 and two number-one KPI positions. Apira/IQVIA ranked second with a weighted mean of 9.22, followed by Ideal Health at 9.20, PA Consulting at 9.02 and PwC UK at 8.84.

The UK scorecard gives particular weight to NHS clinical workflow fit, clinical safety, Frontline Digitisation delivery, data migration, interoperability, benefits realization, supplier accountability and sustainable post-live support.

The U.S. and UK rankings are regional benchmarks rather than a single international league table. The U.S. report publishes an arithmetic Q1-Q18 mean, while the UK/NHS report applies its stated weighted scoring framework. Scores should therefore be interpreted within their respective markets rather than compared directly across countries.

Replacement Programs Are Becoming More Selective, Not Disappearing

The reports do not indicate the end of EHR implementation. Instead, they show broad replacement programs giving way to narrower and more tightly governed projects. Selective implementation, consolidation and remediation were identified as strong-urgency requirements by 68% of U.S. respondents and 73% of UK/NHS respondents.

In the United States, this includes affiliate expansion, module deployment, platform remediation, modernization and merger-driven standardization. In the UK, remaining Frontline Digitisation programs, EPR recovery initiatives, convergence projects and targeted module deployments continue to require implementation-grade governance.

The business case, however, is changing. Providers increasingly expect these projects to be linked to measurable improvements in workforce productivity, patient access, throughput, clinical documentation, service reliability and total operating value.

Regional Differences Continue to Shape Consulting Demand

The studies also identify distinct market pressures.

In the United States, 67% of respondents identified revenue-cycle, patient-access, referral, authorization and denial workflows as a strong-urgency consulting area. This reflects growing pressure to connect clinical workflow improvement with cash flow, coding accuracy, charge capture, access and throughput.

In the UK/NHS market, 69% of respondents identified data migration, archiving, cutover and legacy-system transition as strong-urgency requirements. Another 65% prioritized interoperability, open APIs, shared records and integration with national NHS products and services.

The UK findings also place greater emphasis on public accountability, clinical safety, information governance and the continuity-of-care risks associated with data migration and legacy decommissioning.

AI Is Moving into Governance-Intensive Production Work

Both reports position artificial intelligence as part of the wider EHR optimization market rather than as a standalone technology purchase.

In the United States, 60% of respondents identified data quality, interoperability, analytics and AI governance as a strong-urgency area. In the UK, 57% cited data platforms, analytics, AI governance and insight-to-action capabilities, alongside the 65% prioritizing interoperability.

Ambient documentation, clinical summarization, inbox automation, coding assistance and decision-support tools are expected to move from pilots into production. However, buyers are requiring stronger data controls, auditability, human review, clinical governance, model-risk management and evidence of actual burden reduction.

"AI will not bypass the difficult work of clinical workflow redesign," Brown added. "Hospitals want automation that fits real operating processes, uses reliable data, preserves human oversight and produces measurable improvements. Technology capability without adoption, transparency and safety controls will not meet the emerging buyer standard."

Post-Go-Live Performance Is Becoming a Procurement Criterion

Resource continuity was identified as a rehire determinant by 61% of U.S. respondents and 63% of UK/NHS respondents. Both reports found that providers penalize consulting firms when experienced proposal teams are replaced by less-qualified delivery resources or when consultants leave before defects, support queues and operating-model responsibilities have been resolved.

The results suggest that future contracts will increasingly include named-resource commitments, knowledge-transfer requirements, turnover reporting, escalation rights, stabilization milestones and benefits measurement extending beyond technical activation.

For consulting firms, the market implication is clear: implementation scale and technology credentials remain important, but they are no longer sufficient. Buyers are differentiating firms based on clinical credibility, workforce adoption, senior-team continuity, transparent risk management and the ability to sustain measurable results after go-live.

Research Methodology

Each regional report evaluated 20 consulting firms over a four-year project lookback using 18 qualitative performance indicators and a 0-to-10 scoring convention. Respondents scored only firms with which they had direct executive-level exposure to implemented, substantially live or post-go-live EHR or EPR projects. Prospect-only evaluations, non-implemented advisory work, marketing impressions, unverified reputation claims and vendor promotional statements were excluded from scoring. The benchmarks are comparative research scorecards and are not substitutes for provider-specific procurement due diligence, clinical-safety review, information-governance assessment, cybersecurity assurance, conflict checks, commercial evaluation or reference validation.

About Black Book Research

Black Book Research is an independent, survey-based healthcare, technology, managed-services, outsourcing and advisory-services research organization. Its research is based on verified buyer, user and implementation-stakeholder experience rather than vendor sponsorship, analyst briefings, marketing visibility or paid placement.

Black Book evaluates international healthcare technology vendors, consulting firms, managed-services organizations and advisory providers against detailed performance indicators covering usability, implementation, workflow fit, support reliability, governance, transparency, interoperability and measurable value, now with coverage of 117 countries globally,. Ranked consulting firms did not sponsor, approve, edit or influence the score sets, placements or KPI-leader determinations.

Media Contact or to request Full US and or UK Reports: research@blackbookmarketresearch.com 1.800.863.7590 or download at https://www.blackbookmarketresearch.com

SOURCE: Black Book Research