Pros & Cons of Working with a Healthcare Consultant

What is a healthcare consultant?

Healthcare consultants provide advice on business and administrative issues as they pertain to medical practices. While clinical aspects are a part of this, consultants look more broadly at ways to streamline processes, save money, manage revenue cycles, and improve patient care.

consultant and doctor shaking hands

Pros

Healthcare consultants can provide many benefits to one’s practice, including:

  • Getting help from an expert: Consultants are industry experts who have worked with many healthcare systems, making them the best fit to help run your organization efficiently. Consultants utilize their previous experiences to identify right approach to fit the needs of your organization and help find ways to better measure healthcare productivity. Not only do consultants increase productivity within your employees, but they also generate better return on investments.
  • Get an accurate and objective assessment: Since consultants are not part of your organization, they can provide you with objective feedback and improvements on hospital management [2]. Their neutrality and unbiased opinion are crucial when bringing new ideas into perspective, resulting in a clear strategy without internal distractions [1].
  • Save time and money: While consultants come at a price, the multitude of financial savings they generate and the immense workload they take off your employees prove more cost-effective in the long run. Typically, there are no overhead costs, and you know the exact costs your organization will incur to make the decision that is right for your organization [1].
  • Best practices: Healthcare consultants take a comprehensive lifecycle approach ensuring their customers have the most cost-effective and efficient methodology. They provide insights into best practices, having learned from the best performers in the industry as a result of their years of experiences working with a diverse set of clients.
Pros & Cons of Working with a Healthcare Consultant

Cons

However, there are certain disadvantages to using a healthcare consultant:

  • Consultant’s Availability: Consultants may take on more than one project at a time, depending on the needs of their clients. If the required project requires immediate assistance, this might affect their ability to meet your deadlines, or increase the cost much higher with additional fees. There may be times when you need then urgently, but they may not be available right away [1].
  • Uncertainty: There is always the possibility when hiring a consultant, that they may not provide you with the results you had envisioned. This risk can be minimized by looking through their list of references, and prior client work [1]. This will allow you to gauge what the company’s records have been like, and whether this aligns with your goals.

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Pros & Cons of Working with a Healthcare Consultant

This article was authored by Yera Patel. Yera is a senior associate with expertise in performance improvement and non-labor cost reduction engagements at Pathstone Partners.

Pros & Cons of Working with a Healthcare Consultant

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