As I reflect on the progress of so many organizations in the KLAS Arch Collaborative over the past few years, I’m overwhelmed with pride. It’s incredible just how much some organizations have improved the quality of their EHR delivery and made a measurable difference in their clinicians’ well-being.
At the same time, the conversation around improving clinician experience continues to shift; it has moved from being a nice thing to do to being more of a strategic advantage. In a market defined by staffing shortages, persistent burnout, and constant pressure to do more with less, organizations are looking for practical, measurable ways to support their caregivers and for technology that actually helps them do it.
The changes we introduced to the Arch Collaborative in 2025 (more on that below) were designed to meet that moment. As we move into 2026, we’re building on that foundation with an even sharper focus on measurement, member collaboration, and organizational leadership.
So where is the Arch Collaborative heading in 2026? Here are just a few insights into what we’re focusing on this year.
The Starting Point for 2026: Leadership and the EHR Experience
Toward the end of 2025, we published an update report on clinician turnover that looked closely at clinician staffing shortages and the root causes of turnover. One of our most important takeaways was this: in a clinician’s mind, their experience with leadership and their experience with the EHR are often one and the same. Or, at the very least, they are deeply connected.
As a result, many of our measurements for 2026 are focusing on understanding how leaders are evolving. We want to understand how the best of the best lead their teams. We’ll also be looking at how they use and position technology as an enabler of great clinician experience and avoid it being a source of friction or frustration.
We’ve spoken with many leaders lately about what’s at risk if clinician experience is not made an organizational priority. These conversations have been sobering. This is just some of what we’ve heard:
“Organizations are degrading the patient experience if their providers are having a poor experience. In the end, that is poor patient health. We can’t have a bad clinician experience and then expect to get good outcomes for our patients.” – CMIO
“The biggest consequence of not improving the clinician experience is poor patient care and outcomes. I want my clinicians to be happy, but my primary objectives are care delivery volume and quality for the community. Plenty of data shows that burned-out or unwell physicians make more mistakes, and therefore, quality suffers. If we have turnover, then access suffers as well. I think there are two pieces there. The healthy, fully engaged provider has fewer complications, better patient engagement, better patient outcomes, better diabetes control, and better hypertension control, and those are things that impact the community.” – CMIO
“The biggest consequence of not improving the clinician experience is clinician burnout. The consequences of clinician burnout include worsening patient experience, worsening patient outcomes, turnover, and physicians leaving medicine. The doctors hate being in the clinic, and when they hate being in the clinic, everybody can feel it. It shows up in lots of ways.” – CMIO
Early Signals That Better Tools Can Help Clinicians Stay
While parts of what we recently learned regarding clinician turnover may feel a bit discouraging, particularly around the role of leadership, we did uncover some positive trends.
A group of 288 clinicians initially reported plans to leave their organizations but later reported plans to stay. We analyzed what those clinicians said about their EHR experience and found that many of them mentioned improved tools, efficiency, and workflow optimization. Ambient documentation and tools like macros to speed up documentation came up repeatedly.
It is encouraging to know there is a light at the end of this tunnel. These are positive signs that technology, when effectively implemented, supported, and trained on, can influence clinicians’ desire to stay and continue caring for patients.
From Hype to Insight: A Clearer Look at AI in the Clinician Experience
There’s no shortage of conversation about AI in healthcare. In many cases, the hype suggests the industry is further along than our data actually shows. Meanwhile, we’re hearing from leaders that certain tools, like ambient speech technology, are already table stakes. Organizations feel that if they don’t offer these capabilities, they’ll fall behind competing health systems.
With that in mind, we’re focusing on how AI is actually being used and where it’s making a difference. We’re excited about our new survey questions that will help us capture which AI use cases are being adopted and what measurable impact they’re having. We want to find answers to questions like: Are these AI tools reducing the cognitive burden a clinician feels in patient encounters? Are clinicians able to efficiently deliver high-quality care? Are they able to go home and forget about work for a while?
Given the financial pressures health systems are under, AI use cases related to revenue cycle are also a huge focus for our members. Because of that, we’re capturing AI use when it comes to coding and billing. We want to know whether the advancements in technology are making a noticeable difference in revenue.
Building What’s Next—Together
One of the most powerful aspects of the Arch Collaborative has always been the community, and during our annual Learning Summit, we’ve historically been great at networking and sharing best practices. This year, we look forward to some interactive, workshop-style sessions. These sessions will allow members to collaborate more deeply and help shape where the Arch Collaborative goes in the future.
Healthcare organizations consistently tell us how valuable it is to learn from peers who’ve faced similar challenges. At last year’s summit, for example, several members shared how they learned from one another. For example, Froedtert Medical College of Wisconsin talked about implementing sprints after learning from the University of Vermont. This is what it’s all about!
As such, we’re especially proud of the one-on-one connections we can help facilitate when organizations seek peer guidance. Our goal is that members don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they can learn from members a few steps ahead of them and replicate what works.
Why 2026 Is the Right Time to Join the Arch Collaborative
In 2025 we established EHR experience levels and formalized executive scorecards. This change has really helped us clarify what the data means and how to simplify it for organizational leadership. We’ve made progress in translating clinician experience into real ROI and putting it into dollars-and-cents language that resonates with top leadership.
We also put a lot of attention and care into updating the survey for this year. While we’ve always refreshed questions regularly, this update reflects today’s clinical environment, where healthcare is going, and the advanced tools clinicians have access to. There is more to learn and take action on than ever before.
Recognizing Outcomes That Matter
Excitement around the KLAS Arch Collaborative Pinnacle awards and the Breakthrough recognition continues to build. We already have healthcare organizations qualifying, and there’s a lot of anticipation about when results can be announced.
These awards are deeply meaningful because they show outcomes that are incredibly difficult to achieve. Unlike many industry recognitions that rely on attestation or feature adoption, these awards reflect real results achieved by organizations. That’s why they carry so much value and why our members are so proud of them. The awards are a testament to our members’ unwavering commitment to serving their caregivers and patients.
Continuing the Work That Matters Most
There’s always more to be done. We’re continuing to evaluate and refine how we measure clinician experience and EHR satisfaction. We have not arrived; we are just beginning. As we move through 2026, our focus remains on clarity, collaboration, and meaningful progress. Leadership matters. How you lead shows up in how you support technology. It must serve clinicians and patients. And any measurement of clinician experience should illuminate your next stepping-stone.
We’re excited about what lies ahead and invite you to explore the full findings from our clinician turnover research (link below) to dive deeper into the data behind these insights. The work of improving clinician experience is a journey. If you are already participating, full steam ahead! If you are not yet, come join us in the fight!
[cta_report url=”https://klasresearch.com/archcollaborative/report/clinician-turnover-2025/704″%5D
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