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2026 BEST IN KLAS
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Middle East Summit 2026
Advancing Healthcare Excellence Through IT
Author
Spencer Corbett
In February 2026, KLAS hosted our third Middle East summit, bringing together 132 industry leaders—66 healthcare provider and ministry representatives and 66 vendor, firm, and investor attendees—to discuss how to advance healthcare excellence through healthcare IT. The two-day summit featured an opening keynote from H.H. Sheikha Dr. Alia Al Qassimi and a closing keynote from H.E. Maryam Matar. Additionally, the summit included an awards ceremony recognizing the 2026 Best in KLAS winners for acute care EHR and PACS in the Middle East/Africa as well as the KLAS Arch Collaborative EHR Experience Pinnacle Award winners. This overview draws from ongoing KLAS research, a pre-summit survey, and insights from the summit’s tabletop discussions to highlight healthcare IT trends occurring in the Middle East.
2026 Best in KLAS Winners in the Middle East
IQVIA for Acute Care EHR Middle East/Africa
Sectra for PACS Middle East/Africa
Arch Collaborative EHR Experience Pinnacle Award† Winner
For Nurses
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre
† This award honors members of the KLAS Arch Collaborative who have achieved outstanding clinician EHR satisfaction. Qualifying organizations must have a Net EHR Experience Score (NEES) of at least 75.0 for nurses or a NEES of at least 60.0 for physicians.
AI Remains the Top Priority as Adoption Continues to Grow in the Middle East
Provider attendees who responded to the pre-summit survey as well as other interviewed organizations around the globe indicate that, just like in 2024, AI is their top healthcare IT investment priority. Many organizations are also investing in EHR systems; however, AI is increasingly viewed as a complementary layer that builds on and extends the value of these foundational EHR platforms. Additionally, cybersecurity, digital health, analytics, imaging, and infrastructure are commonly reported as investment priorities.
AI priorities are becoming more defined for healthcare organizations in the Middle East. The most common AI-specific priority is strategy, governance, and adoption. Ambient documentation, AI platform integration, and advanced AI capabilities are also areas of investment. Overall, these trends indicate that organizations are moving beyond early exploration of AI toward a more structured phase of adoption focused on embedding AI into clinical and operational workflows.
Ambient Speech Delivers Early Gains; Organizations Want Vendors That Can Deliver Clear ROI
Ambient speech is gaining meaningful traction in the Middle East, with consideration increasing from 15% in 2024 to 43% in 2025. This reflects growing recognition of the technology’s potential to improve physician experience and workflow efficiency, aligning with broader momentum seen in more mature markets. Findings from KLAS’s Ambient Speech Outcomes 2025 report indicate that among organizations that have piloted or deployed these solutions, at least 75% report positive outcomes, including reduced documentation burden, improved same-day chart closure, and more streamlined clinical workflows. These results point to a clear value proposition: less time spent documenting, lower cognitive load, and more time focused on patient care.
While adoption in the Middle East is still early, interest is high and organizations are actively evaluating next steps. As they do so, healthcare leaders are looking for vendors to provide clear, measurable ROI rather than relying solely on anecdotal success stories. Experience from more established markets also suggests that beyond efficiency gains, ambient solutions can support more comprehensive documentation with downstream benefits for coding and operations. At the same time, whether these tools meaningfully reduce burnout will depend on how organizations choose to operationalize the efficiencies gained.
Imaging AI Adoption Likely to Grow in Coming Years
The Middle East has the lowest imaging AI adoption of any region KLAS measures. However, healthcare organizations plan to invest more in this area, which will increase adoption in the near term.
Early use cases are focused on areas like chest x-ray and breast imaging, and there is growing interest in CT head and stroke use cases. As the market has matured, organizations have become more selective, seeking strategic vendor partnerships that offer integration, scalability, and long-term value.
Few Organizations Have Mature Population Health Program as These Programs Can Be Difficult to Scale
The majority of the pre-summit survey respondents remain early in their population health journey; only a small subset of organizations have reached a more mature, outcomes-focused phase. Given this early-stage maturity, summit attendees discussed persistent barriers to scaling population health, including fragmented data, limited interoperability, and financial incentives that are not aligned with prevention measures or long-term outcomes (see takeaways below).
Although organizations are increasingly shifting focus from analytics to execution, many struggle to act on insights due to gaps in care coordination, patient engagement, and access across disconnected systems. Overall, the Middle East is in a transitional phase—supported by growing investments in cloud, data integration, and AI but still working through the operational and cultural changes needed to scale population health effectively.
Population Health: Key Takeaways from Tabletop Discussions
Data fragmentation and limited interoperability remain foundational barriers
Organizations struggle with incomplete, siloed, and untrustworthy data, which limits their ability to define populations, measure outcomes, and act effectively across care settings.
Financial incentives are misaligned
Current reimbursement models often prioritize volume over outcomes, making it difficult for healthcare organizations to invest in prevention and long-term population health initiatives without clear financial return.
A gap persists between insight generation and clinical action
Many organizations can identify at-risk populations, but challenges in workflows, care coordination, and patient access prevent consistent intervention and outcomes at the point of care.
Population health is shifting from analytics to operational execution
Healthcare organizations are moving beyond dashboards toward embedding population health into care delivery via proactive management, real-time decision-making, and integrated workflows.
Patient engagement and cultural factors are critical to success
Sustained impact depends on improving patient participation, building trust, and addressing cultural behaviors that influence preventive care and ongoing health management.
Revenue Cycle Challenges Reflect System-Wide Strain
Revenue cycle challenges in the Middle East are not isolated; many organizations grapple with similar issues as they work to scale, comply, and modernize their strategies. Market-wide concerns include policy evolution and organizations’ operational agility in response to regulatory changes. Additionally, the most cited challenges among pre-summit survey respondents are coding accuracy, clinical documentation, and workforce productivity. These challenges are compounded by structural barriers, particularly fragmented technology environments and limited data visibility, which make it difficult for organizations to manage performance in real time. As a result, healthcare organizations are prioritizing more integrated and flexible RCM strategies, and there is a growing interest in AI-driven use cases such as automation, coding improvement, and denial reduction to improve efficiency and support scalability.
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Thank You
KLAS is privileged to work with some of the brightest and most influential leaders in the healthcare industry. We acknowledge and are thankful for the efforts of KLAS’s Middle East Advisory Board members; their advice and connections helped make the 2026 Middle East summit a success.
KLAS Middle East Advisory Board Members
Mansour Al-Swaidan
Deputy Chief Information Officer
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre
Saudi Arabia
Augustine Amusu
CIO
Mediclinic Middle East
United Arab Emirates
H.E. Mubaraka Ibrahim
Acting CIO
Emirates Health Services
United Arab Emirates
Tamara Sunbul
Group CIO
Fakeeh Care Group
Saudi Arabia
2026 Summit Attendees
Healthcare Organizations
Abdulah Alfraij, Pediatric Intensive Consultant, Ahmadi Hospital (KOC), Kuwait
Abdullah Al Maniri, Minister Advisor and Chairman, Oman Ministry of Health, Oman
Abid Hussain Shah, Group CIO, Saudi German Health, UAE
Adhra Al Habsi, National eHealth Strategy Team, Ministry of Health, Oman
Aisha Al-bisher, Senior HIS Officer, KOC, Kuwait
Alok Anand, Chairman of Diagnostic Radiology, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE
Amr Ayed, Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Digital Transformation, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt
Amr Jamal, Chairman, King Saud University/Zimam/Seha Vertual Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Amrita Kumar, AI Clinical Lead & Consultant Radiologist, Medica Group, UAE
Atif Albraiki, Chief Digital Officer, Dubai Academic Health Corporation, UAE
Augustine Amusu, CIO, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE
Ayman Amusu, Digital Health Principal Consultant, Confidential, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Azeem Anwar, IT Director, Cambridge Medical & Rehabilitation Center, UAE
Chandra Shekar, Kings College Hospital London, UAE
Charles Aunger, CIO, American Hospital Dubai, UAE
Dafer Alshehri, Informatics Lead at MODHS, Ministry of Defense Health Services, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Daood Malik, Medical Student, NHS, UK
Dari Alhuwail, Board Member, Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority, KOC, Kuwait
Fahad Bindayel, Business Development Executive Advisor, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Gagan Goel, Vice President, IT Business Applications, M42, UAE
Gurhan Zincircioglu, CMIO/COO, Tire Hospital, Türkiye
Hamad Al Harthi, Senior Consultant Directorate General of Planning MOH, Oman
H.E. Dr. Maryam Matar, Founder and Chairperson, UAE Genetic Diseases Association & Sheikh Zayed Genetic Research Center, UAE
H.E. Mubaraka Ibrahim, CIO & CAIO, Emirates Health Services, UAE
H.H. Sheikha Dr. Alia AlQassimi, Founder & Chairperson, AHQ, UAE
Ibrahim Al Ghaithi, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Consultant and Program Director for Innovation & AI, Ministry of Health, Oman
Ibrahim Mansoor, Consultant Pathologist and Chairman Lab/Director Laboratory Services, King’s College Hospital Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Jane Dwelly, VP International, CHIME, UK
Khaled Khadra, Director, Revenue Cycle Management, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE
Kumar KV, Group CIO, Aster DM Healthcare, UAE
Kushal Shah, Group Head – Clinical Informatics, Aster DM Healthcare, UAE
Leo Leslin, Director of IT, King Hamad American Mission Hospital, Bahrain
Mahmood Adil, Global Clinical Data & Digital Health Lead, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, UK
Mahmoud Saleh, Director of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Health Jordan
Mansour Al-Swaidan, Deputy CIO, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Martin Lascano, CMIO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mey Al-Khonaizi, Clinical Applications Senior Director, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Hablas, Regional Director, Saudi German Health, Egypt
Monief Bahlaq, Enterprise Imaging & eHealth Senior Consultant, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mubarak Alshahrani, CIO/VP of Digital Transformation, King Saud University Health System, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Imran, Consultant Radiologist and Head of Imaging, Healthpoint Hospital/M42, UAE
Munazul Miah, Consultant, Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Muzammil Khalil, Lead Digital Transformation and Data Analytics, Clemenceau Hospital Affiliated with Johns Hopkins, UAE
Narges Sheikhansari, Advisor, Government, UAE
Neeraja Valmiki, Project Manager - PMO, Emirates Health Services, UAE
Nihat Sebik, Head of Department, Ministry of Health Turkey, Türkiye
Nora Abd Elhalim, International Cooperation Officer-Office of the Assistant Minister for Digital Transformation, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt
Omar Ayesh, CEO, EHS, Jordan
Osama Elhassan, Chair, ZIMAM, UAE
Qais AlDoub, Team Lead HIMS, Kuwait Oil Company, KOC, Kuwait
Rajiv Ganapathy, Director of Technology, Kings College Hospital Dubai, UAE
Rasu Shrestha, Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer, Executive Vice President, Advocate Health, US
Rizwan Malik, Consultant Radiologist, Bolton NHS and SMR Health & Tech, UK
Sajeda Abdo, Executive Director of Digital Health and Pharmacy Services, Alrajhi Medicine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saji Vasudevan, Corporate Director Revenue Cycle Management, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company - SEHA, UAE
Saleh Alharbi, CMO, Al Salama Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Sam Rogers, Team Lead, Clinical Applications, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE
Sandip Kumar, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, King’s College Hospital London, UAE
Sherif ElBatrawy, Managing Director, AHQ, UAE
Sonia Kaul, Executive Director, Revenue Cycle and Finance, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE
Tamara Sunbul, Group CIO, Fakeeh Care, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Veneeth Purushothaman, Group CIO, Aster DM Healthcare, UAE
Victoria Komolafe, Senior Project Manager, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE
Zahid Ali, CIO, NovaCare Hospitals, Pakistan
Vendors/Firms/Investors
Abdullah Alsabah, Deputy Director General for Investment Operations, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority
Abdullah Omar, Marketing Manager, InterSystems
Ahmed Megahed, Regional Director, PaxeraHealth
Akhter Mubarki, General Manager, Innovaccer
Ali Afifeh, CEO, CertaCure
Ali AbiRaad, Managing Director, InterSystems
Ali Juma Mahmoud, CEO, Digitiza
Ali Nairat, Regional Business Leader, Philips
Ali Wazne, Clinical Solution Executive, InterSystems
Anas Batikhi, CEO, SANTECHTURE
Andrea Sowitch, Global Director Customer Engagement, Sectra
Anjum Ahmed, Regional Business Leader, AGFA HealthCare
Asutosh Upadhyay, Principal, FortyTwo.VC
Balagopal Ramdurai, Chief Technology Officer, Vectramind
Bassam Maged El-Gendy, Business Development Manager - GCC & APAC, PaxeraHealth
Beyza Kaymakoglu, Executive Director EMEA, Rhapsody Health
Brian Raggett, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Growth, S&P Universal Consulting
Cassandra Hilton, Clinical Solution Executive, InterSystems
Christer Sjoberg, Business Partner Manager, Sectra
Devendra Deshmukh, Chief Transformation and Services Officer, GE HealthCare
Doug Cusick, President, S&P Universal Consulting
Farid Issa, Digital Innovation Lead Middle East, Roche
Hamza Moftah, Digital Health Advisor and Investor, Huma
Hannah Allen, CMO, Heidi Health
Haytham Allam, Senior Product Director, TopMed
Hazem Eloraby, Product Director & CMIO, Health Insights Asia
Ihab Ibrahim, CEO, INFINITT
Jacy Conley, President, HEI Global Health
Jega Ponnudurai, Executive VP Commercials, Adeahub
Joseph Saleh, Director, Business Development and Strategy, IQVIA
Karl Miklis, Chief Revenue Officer, Harrison.AI (Annalise)
Leela Vaughn, Sales, Epic
Mahmoud Al Oqdeh, CIO, Megamind IT Solutions
Marc Perlman, Global Digital Health Leader, Deloitte
Martin Mellish, Chairman, Aspen Advisory Services
Michael Burke, Regional Manager, Middle East, Hyland
Mike Smith, CTO, iMedX
Mohamed Ramzy, Senior Vice President, Claritev (MultiPlan)
Mohamed Shoura, CEO, PaxeraHealth
Mohammed Omar, Customer Success Manager, Philips
Mohammed Shehadeh, Partner, ME Healthcare and Human Services Leader, Deloitte
Muhammad Azam, General Manager Chief AI Officer, Cloud Solutions
Murali Krishna Vakalapudi, Founder and CEO, Vectramind
Mustafa Hamdy, Regional SM Middle East, AGFA HealthCare
Naveen Deshpande, Co-Founder & Group COO, entomo
Nouran Haggag, Product Manager Medical Informatics, Health Insights Asia
Omar Ibrahim, COO, Health Insights Asia
Paul Bonnet, General Manager, Vidal Vademecum Internacional
Peter Hall, President IMEA, Informa
Piyush Arya, Director, Business Development and Strategy, Augnito
Robert Long, Sales Manager, InterSystems
Ronan O’Connor, Managing Director - EMEA & Vice President, HIMSS
Rustom Lawyer, Co-Founder & CEO, Augnito
Sally Thompson, Group Event Director, Informa
Samir Hawa, VP - Payer, Provider & Government Solutions, IQVIA
Sayf Abdelrahman, CEO, TopMed
Sébastien Forbes, Implementation, Epic
Shankar Krishnan, VP - Healthcare, Vectramind
Simon Philip Rost, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, GE HealthCare
Tamer Maher, Project Manager, TopMed
Thamer Albulaihid, CEO, Health Insights for Software Design
Thierry Verstraete, VP of Product Management, GE HealthCare
Thomas Goehl, Senior Global Market Development Manager, Roche
Veronique Lessens, Global Head of Strategy, Marketing & Communication, AGFA HealthCare
Wajid Bhatt, Regional Director Middle East, Heidi Health
Zach Alesandrini, Implementation, Epic
Writer
Sarah Brown
Designer
Natalie Jamison
Project Manager
Amanda Wind
This material is copyrighted. Any organization gaining unauthorized access to this report will be liable to compensate KLAS for the full retail price. Please see the KLAS DATA USE POLICY for information regarding use of this report. © 2026 KLAS Research, LLC. All Rights Reserved. NOTE: Performance scores may change significantly when including newly interviewed provider organizations, especially when added to a smaller sample size like in emerging markets with a small number of live clients. The findings presented are not meant to be conclusive data for an entire client base.