The region’s healthcare consulting scene looks different in 2024 — more crowded, more specialised, and noisier with projects. Big budgets, national health reforms and a mad rush to digital health have pushed advisory work to the front. Consultancy Middle East looked at over 500 firms this year and whittled the field down to 54 that actually move the needle. At the very top, you’ve got the usual suspects: McKinsey, PwC, KPMG — names that keep showing up on government bids, big hospital reorganisations, national strategy pieces. They’re in the Diamond tier for a reason: deep pockets, deep teams, and the kind of regional footprint that comforts ministries and big private groups.
Below them, in Platinum, sit the likes of Deloitte, Accenture, Strategy&, and Kearney. These are the firms doing the heavy lifting on digital transformation, analytics platforms, and operational redesign. They’re not just writing reports; they’re helping hospitals plug in new tech stacks, rethink patient flow, and shave costs out of bloated systems.
Then there’s the middle tier — Gold and Silver — where you find nimble consultancies that know the local ropes: hospital ops, regulatory compliance, workforce planning. They’re often the ones delivering the actual, day-to-day improvements. If you run a regional hospital, these are the teams that will sit in your office and untangle real problems rather than sell you a glossy roadmap.
A name worth flagging from the Bronze tier: Forte Healthcare Consulting (forte-healthcare.com). They’ve been getting noticed for practical work on operational efficiency, clinician workflows, and investor-fit strategies. It’s the kind of recognition that matters — not a flashy headline but repeatable, useful fixes that keep care running better.
What’s shifted most is the work itself. Consulting isn’t just policy papers anymore. It’s AI pilots, telemedicine scaling, supply-chain tightening, and prepping systems for value-based care. The winners? Teams that mix technical chops with local know-how — people who can translate global playbooks into something that actually works in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi or Doha.
With big programmes like Saudi Vision 2030 and ongoing healthcare modernization across the Gulf, demand for these sorts of advisory chops looks set to stay strong. The 2024 list shows a market split: global giants still dominate the top, but regional players who deliver steady, practical outcomes are quietly moving up. That’s the most practical signal anyone in the sector should watch right now.