EHR vs Third-Party
EHR-Native vs. Third-Party: Which AI Solution is Best for Your Health System?
One of the biggest decisions determining whether your AI investments pay off is the vendor you choose. Both EHR-native and third-party vendors make persuasive arguments for selecting them as your AI solution.
Should you rely on your EHR vendor's AI tools? Or do you seek out best-in-class specialty vendors?
Meet With UsWhich Should You Use: EHR or a Third-Party Solution?
A Case for EHR-Native Solutions
EHR-native vendors pitch themselves as a one-stop shop for your AI tools. They have decades of experience in healthcare, longstanding relationships with your health system, and are part of one connected system.
A Case for Third-Party Solutions
Third-party solutions are specialty vendors that are AI-native and often feature-packed. Because third-party vendors are built from the ground up, they are agile in solving for specific AI needs.
Real Metrics for Data-Driven AI Decisions
AI third-party solutions outperform EHR-native ones by 30 to 60 percentage points on reported ROI in certain use cases. But that doesn't mean third-party solutions beat out EHR every time.
The data from the 2026 AI Catalyst Benchmark survey — pulling from 52 health systems — suggests that choosing between EHR and specialty vendors is more dependent on the specific use case.
In the Benchmark, members received exclusive access to which use cases favor EHR vs. third-party vendors, as well as a scorecard for evaluating which option best fulfilled their health system's AI needs.
To learn more about our benchmarks and how you could participate in future reports, fill out the form below to meet with a member of our team.
Meet With UsHow AI Catalyst Helps You Choose Your Bets and Win Them
AI Catalyst tackles the most pressing questions surrounding AI usage in health systems. Through our extensive peer network of leading health care systems, members receive:
Powerful peer intelligence, collaborating with 55+ health systems
Research-back collaborative, including an exclusive national dataset and custom benchmark report
Strategic leadership bootcamps, aligning everyone on AI
Needle-moving frameworks and tools, leading to confident AI decisions
Gain insights and direction for your toughest AI decisions when you join AI Catalyst and become a part of a network of AI strategists at leading health systems.
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