Global health IT, management and outsourcing company Accenture has finalized its agreement to acquire Sagacious Consultants, an EHR consulting practice, executives announced September 23.

The acquisition enables Accenture, which helps healthcare organizations across the country with massive EHR rollouts to expand capabilities for helping clients to better manage healthcare quality, efficiency and costs, they said.  

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including required regulatory approvals.

[See also: DoD awards Cerner, Leidos, Accenture EHR contract.]

Approximately 250 employees from Sagacious Consultants will join Accenture, bringing specialized skills in implementation, systems integration, upgrades and optimization of EHR solutions from Epic Systems. 

As Accenture execs see it, the acquisition will expand the Accenture's capabilities to help clients realize the benefits of EHR systems by improving clinical and business outcomes.

Sagacious Consultants, recognized as the 2013 Best in KLAS for Clinical Implementation Services, brings extensive expertise in healthcare IT, information solutions, optimization, data analytics and data warehousing for Epic-related systems.

"As the global EHR market continues on a trajectory that will surpass $22 billion this year, there is a critical need for medical IT specialists who can help healthcare systems maximize the utility and impact of digital health records," Kaveh Safavi, managing director for Accenture's global healthcare business, said in a press statement. "Sagacious will enhance our capabilities, expertise and ability to drive transformational outcomes for our clients."

[Read more about what Safavi has to say about the perils of EHR rollouts: Go-live gone wrong.]

The consultants will join Accenture to provide healthcare organizations with EHR readiness and preparation, formal design, configuration, clinical content management and end-user training.

Accenture's global healthcare business serves providers, payers and public health systems in more than 20 countries.