Independent, vendor-agnostic survey benchmark evaluates NHS EPR advisory firms across optimisation, workflow redesign, implementation assurance, interoperability, data, managed support, trust and value-realisation KPIs

Black Book Market Research LLC today released its Q3 2026 report, Healthcare IT Consulting & Advisory Services: UK and NHS - EPR Optimisation, Workflow Redesign & Selective Implementation, naming KPMG UK / EPR Alliance the top-ranked advisory firm in the 2026 UK/NHS EPR optimisation consulting benchmark.

The independent, survey-based report evaluates consulting and advisory firms supporting NHS electronic patient record optimisation, clinical workflow redesign, selective implementation, Frontline Digitisation support, go-live stabilisation, interoperability, data migration, analytics, managed support, procurement assurance, cyber/information governance, training, national product integration and accountable post-live delivery.

KPMG UK / EPR Alliance Recognised for Enterprise EPR Advisory Leadership

Black Book recognised KPMG UK / EPR Alliance as the leading UK/NHS EPR optimisation advisory firm, citing its healthcare digital transformation capability, enterprise EPR assurance profile, and alliance-based model supporting NHS strategy, implementation discipline, data migration, interoperability, optimisation and post-live value realisation.

KPMG UK / EPR Alliance achieved top-rated performance in EPR strategy, business case development and Frontline Digitisation alignment, demonstrating strength in executive advisory, investment justification, programme mobilisation and NHS digital transformation planning. The firm was also top rated for procurement, supplier assurance and commercial value-for-money, reflecting buyer recognition of its capabilities in commercial governance, supplier-risk control, procurement support, delivery accountability and value protection across complex NHS EPR programmes.

The report further identifies KPMG UK / EPR Alliance as strongly positioned across several additional advisory-demand areas, including EPR optimisation and usability improvement, clinical adoption support, go-live stabilisation, data migration and cutover planning, interoperability, national-services integration, benefits linkage, managed support and governance-led delivery.

“UK healthcare organisations are increasingly evaluating EPR advisory support on measurable delivery evidence, clinical workflow credibility, post-live stabilisation, data quality, interoperability, procurement assurance and benefits realisation,” said Douglas Brown, Founder of Black Book Research. “KPMG UK / EPR Alliance distinguished itself in the 2026 UK/NHS benchmark through its performance in EPR strategy, Frontline Digitisation alignment, supplier assurance and commercial value-for-money, while the broader report shows a highly competitive advisory market with specialist strengths distributed across multiple firms.”

Other Advisory Firms Evaluated

Other UK/NHS healthcare IT advisory firms evaluated in the Black Book report, listed alphabetically, include 6B Health, Accenture UK, Aire Logic, APIRA / IQVIA, CGI/BJSS, Channel 3 Consulting, Cloud21, Deloitte UK, Ethical Healthcare, EY UK, HCI Digital, Health Systems Support, HIC, IBM Consulting, Ideal Health, Methods, PA Consulting, PwC UK and Stalis.

The report finds that comparative KPI leadership is distributed across the market, with specialist and larger advisory firms demonstrating different areas of strength across workflow redesign, implementation assurance, data migration, interoperability, benefits realisation, cyber/information governance, training, national product integration and managed support. Black Book notes that no single advisory firm dominates every NHS EPR optimisation capability, reinforcing the importance of matching advisory selection to trust-specific risk, delivery scope and desired outcomes.

KPI Framework Overview

The Black Book KPI framework evaluates advisory-firm performance across the full NHS EPR advisory lifecycle, from strategy through post-live optimisation. The indicators cover clinical workflow optimisation, usability redesign, EPR strategy, Frontline Digitisation alignment, programme governance, clinical engagement, adoption, build/configuration quality, clinical safety, data migration, legacy-system transition, go-live readiness, stabilisation, benefits realisation, interoperability, open standards, shared care records, analytics, FDP/AI governance, patient access, referrals, elective recovery, integrated-care pathways, procurement assurance, cyber/information governance, training, managed support, national product integration, transparency, accountable delivery and NHS-specific cultural fit.

Black Book groups these indicators into practical advisory capability domains: clinical usability and adoption; EPR strategy and implementation assurance; data, interoperability and national platforms; operational value and productivity; commercial, cyber and support resilience; and transparency, trust and accountable delivery.

UK EPR Advisory Market Trends for 2026-2027

The report finds that NHS EPR advisory demand has shifted from first-time digitisation toward measurable optimisation, clinical workflow improvement, workforce relief and post-live value. EPR selection and go-live support remain important, but NHS buyers are placing greater emphasis on usability, adoption, clinical safety, data confidence, interoperability, benefits tracking and accountable stabilisation after implementation.

Black Book identified several major 2026-2027 advisory trends:

EPR optimisation is becoming the dominant post-digitisation advisory demand. Trusts with implemented EPRs increasingly require workflow remediation, usability improvement, documentation-burden reduction, clinical-safety refinement, training reinforcement and release governance.

Frontline Digitisation work is shifting from procurement to value realisation. Remaining implementation and recovery programmes still require advisory support, but buyers are demanding stronger links between business case, workflow redesign, clinical adoption, benefits measurement and supplier accountability.

Data migration and archive risk remain board-level concerns. Legacy data, duplicate records, poor coding, archive exposure, reconciliation gaps and migration defects are increasingly viewed as patient-safety, continuity-of-care and trust risks.

Interoperability and national product integration are now baseline delivery requirements. Shared records, NHS App, NHS login, eRS, PDS, Spine, GP Connect and open APIs are moving from technical workstreams to central advisory requirements for cross-system care.

AI, analytics and FDP use cases require governance-heavy delivery. The report finds that analytics and AI value depends on data quality, transparency, model governance, clinical safety, public trust and adoption into real operational workflows.

Post-live support is becoming a rehire determinant. Buyers increasingly penalise advisory firms that rotate senior teams, understate risk, fail to transfer knowledge or leave after go-live without sufficient stabilisation, service-desk transition and benefits ownership.

Support Statistics from the 2026 UK/NHS Buyer Evidence

Black Book’s buyer evidence identified the following demand and support signals across UK/NHS EPR advisory engagements:

92% identified EPR optimisation and clinical workflow redesign as the highest-urgency advisory demand.
88% identified clinical adoption, training and usability improvement as a highest-urgency need.
84% identified go-live stabilisation, command-centre support and run-model transition as a highest-urgency requirement.
73% identified selective implementation and Frontline Digitisation support as an active advisory need.
69% identified data migration, archiving, cutover and legacy-system transition as a strong advisory requirement.
65% identified interoperability, open APIs, shared records and national products as a strong advisory requirement.
57% identified data platforms, analytics, FDP, AI governance and insight-to-action as a moderate-to-high urgency area.
55% identified commercial assurance, cyber/information governance and trust controls as a moderate-to-high urgency area.

Additional buyer findings show that 83% of respondents rated clinical safety and clinical leadership as high or critical, 79% rated post-go-live stabilisation as high or critical, 74% required workflow simulation before cutover, 70% required benefits tracking beyond go-live and 68% identified data quality and migration assurance as a safety risk.

Survey Basis and Methodology

The Black Book benchmark is based on 145 UK/NHS provider-client exposures and 620 qualified executive exposures across NHS trusts, integrated care boards, ICS digital teams, national bodies and care partners. Respondent segments included digital executives, clinical informatics leaders, operational transformation leaders, procurement and PMO leaders, EPR programme directors, chief pharmacists and clinical risk leaders, data/interoperability/AI leaders, and service desk/application support leaders.

The report’s methodology excludes prospect-only evaluations, marketing impressions, consultant-selected references without governance exposure, pure software-vendor professional services and NHS-owned comparator bodies. Scores are limited to firms with relevant UK health, NHS, EPR, digital transformation, interoperability, data, optimisation, implementation or support evidence.

Black Book’s Vendor-Agnostic Healthcare IT Survey Expertise

Black Book Research is an impartial, vendor-agnostic surveyor of healthcare IT performance globally. The organisation does not sell rankings, pay-for-performance score changes, sponsored recognition, analyst-access programmes, vendor subscriptions, promotional placements or consulting-firm sponsorships tied to survey outcomes.

Black Book’s healthcare IT research model is built from buyer-side experience, verified user input, project exposure, implemented-system outcomes and direct respondent evidence rather than vendor narrative, analyst preference, conference visibility, marketing claims or brand familiarity.

Across more than 7,000 vendors, products, service providers and consulting firms evaluated in Black Book studies, the research model is designed to protect independence, respondent confidentiality and the integrity of user-experience scoring. Black Book surveys healthcare executives, provider leaders, digital teams, informatics professionals, operational users, procurement stakeholders, implementation leaders and technology buyers to assess usability, adoption, workflow fit, implementation confidence, support reliability, clinical and operational value, procurement transparency, data quality, interoperability, governance, return on investment and accountable conduct.

The report concludes that NHS organisations increasingly expect EPR advisors to demonstrate independence from EPR vendor influence, clinically credible workflow redesign, implementation-grade delivery controls, measurable post-live benefits and accountable stabilisation support.

UK healthcare industry stakeholders may request the report by contacting research@blackbookmarketresearch.com or by visiting https://www.blackbookmarketresearch.com. The report is available along with several other no-cost industry insider research reports from Black Book Research.

About Black Book Research

Black Book Research is an independent, survey-based healthcare, technology, managed services, outsourcing and advisory-services research organisation. Black Book evaluates healthcare technology vendors, service providers and consulting firms through buyer-side experience, verified user input, project exposure, implemented-system outcomes and KPI-based evidence rather than vendor narrative, analyst opinion, sponsorship or marketing visibility.

Black Book is vendor and consultant-firm agnostic and is not influenced by the vendors, products, consulting firms, managed services organisations or advisory providers it evaluates. Its healthcare IT surveys are used to provide evidence-led insight into technology, advisory, outsourcing, implementation, interoperability, support and managed-services performance across healthcare markets worldwide.

Media Contact

Kate Ferguson
Black Book Market Research LLC
Email: research@blackbookmarketresearch.com
Website: https://www.blackbookmarketresearch.com

SOURCE: Black Book Market Research LLC