The best medical consulting agencies have certain characteristics! How you select a qualified and reliable consulting firm will determine the outcome and success of the consulting engagement to a large degree!
When looking for a consulting firm for your healthcare facility, you naturally want the best available. However, it isn’t always easy to evaluate a firm, and figuring out what makes it “the best” may be hard to pinpoint.
Best medical consulting agencies qualifications
Several hallmark qualities are consistent among the top medical consulting firms in the country:
- Geographical diversity.
- Team members with real-world, hands-on experience who are credentialed in specialized areas.
- Consultants who have been operators, not just theorists.
- A broad spectrum of talent and knowledge in all areas of healthcare.
- A solid history of experience and education.
- A proven track record with many satisfied clients.
- Compliance, HIPAA, and regulatory expertise.
- A commitment to openly communicate with clients.
- The utilization of current technology to power proprietary tools to help healthcare organizations thrive and grow.
“Healthcare Operational Experience is a Must”
At The Fox Group, we hit all of these marks and more. Each member of our team has outstanding technical abilities and proven experience – with documented results. We work with clients through the U.S. as well as internationally. Our team is diverse in the experience, too, with specializations and concentrations ensure you have an expert by your side.
How to select a consulting firm
When you are ready to hire a consultant, remember that it will likely be an ongoing partnership, and the firm you choose will be deeply involved in your organization. They will work alongside you to ensure your business’s success. In other words, it is not a relationship you should enter into lightly.
Thus, ask these questions to guide your decision:
- What type of service do you need?
- What type of firm do you want to work with? A large firm or a smaller boutique firm?
- How do they communicate with their clients, and how often? Do they believe in open communication?
- Is the service cost-effective for you? Do the charges for the services offered to fit into your budget?
- What do the firm’s clients say about them?
- Do they have an online presence? Do their social media interactions mirror the values they reflect on their website?
- Does the firm fit your company culture?
- Do the staff members working on your project hold the appropriate credentials, certifications, experience, and expertise for your specialization?
- Do they exhibit a commitment to your organization’s growth?
- Can you see them as a long-term partner that will further the success of your organization?
- Do the firm’s corporate values and philosophies line up with yours?
Experience and expertise in healthcare
When looking at a medical consulting firm to help your healthcare organization reach a goal or achieve success, experience and expertise count; a consulting firm is only as good as its team members. In addition, of course, academic degrees are important, but you want to see that the consultant you are working with sought credentials beyond the classroom walls.
Some case studies may demonstrate the value of experience and expertise!
Our team is comprised of some of the best experts in the industry. They hold many different specialty credentials, and each one has years of hands-on experience in that area of expertise. What’s more, our team has worked in leadership positions before they joined us. This means that they not only understand how those areas really work, but they also understand what it takes to achieve success in them.
Our team has credentials beyond a bachelor’s degree. In fact, we encourage them to continue their education path, to constantly learn, take classes, attend seminars and seek additional credentials. We are focused on the ongoing pursuit of knowledge, personal growth, and self-development.
We deliver results and it shows in the results and satisfied clients.
The need for healthcare specialization
There are many specific areas within any healthcare organization that require specialized knowledge. Unfortunately, many medical consulting agencies only focus on a handful and some on just one. However, having a consulting team that can address a broad range of specializations makes them a more effective partner and better meets the organization’s needs.
Some common areas of specialization include:
- New healthcare business.
- Implementation assitance.
- Corporate compliance effectiveness evaluation and sustainability.
- Analysis of operations.
- HIPAA risk analysis and assessment.
- Independent Review Organization (IRO) qualifications.
- Medical practice analysis.
- Market needs assessments and financial feasibility studies.
- EHR and information technology.
- Medical billing and collections.
- Medical records documentation and coding.
- Privacy and security breach.
- Mobile health technology.
“Cross-over Knowledge & Experience a Must”
While it is not a comprehensive list, it does provide a general idea of various areas that medical consulting agencies can help their healthcare clients with. Many of these areas require experts with specialized knowledge and experience. Therefore, you want someone who has worked in that area and understands the ins and outs.
Best medical consulting agencies work long-term.
Best Medical Consulting Agencies DO NOT just engage in a short “hit and run” type consulting engagement.
The selection of a consultant firm that participates in implementing your outcome-focused strategies and tasks/steps is a distinguishing factor of the best consulting firms.
There are typically two different types of healthcare organization clients:
- Those that want a long-term relationship with their consulting agency.
- Those that are just looking for quick-fix engagement.
Most medical consulting agencies naturally function as one or the other, but some can adjust to the client’s needs. They can offer some short-term solutions as well as long-term outcome-driven services.
Deciding which type of consulting service you need should be understood. For example, do you need a firm to work with you on a quick project like an urgent issue/problem? Or do you need ongoing consultation more of a partnership to propel growth and realize organizational goals?
We offer flexible options for medical organizations, large and small. We typically operate in a long-term implementation capacity but have the flexibility to provide services to whatever extent our clients require. This results in a more well-rounded client experience.
Analysis versus implementation – is there a difference?
Firms that focus on analysis are more involved in gathering and analyzing the data surrounding the organization’s venture. As a result, they will provide strategic solutions to roadblocks and potential problems while helping clients develop the clearest, most efficient path possible to their goal.
Firms that focus on implementation, on the other hand, take the data and recommendations from the analysis team and apply them in real-time to aid the client in realizing their goals. They take the information, the strategic guidance, and the solutions offered and bring them to life.
Ideally, a consulting firm will employ both of these functions under the same roof with teams working together for the client.
“The best consultants assist in moving your organization from “Point A to Point B”
At The Fox Group, that is what we do. Our highly-skilled, experienced team members work together to provide both the analysis that helps lay the groundwork and the implementation that puts it into action. We work with our clients not as outsiders giving unfounded advice but as trusted partners that work with them to realize their organizational goals.
Medical consulting agencies’ philosophy and values
When choosing a partner, you will naturally look at the team members’ skillsets and their experience, knowledge, and expertise. You will also look at the company’s reputation and proven track record based on results. Additionally, you will likely want to delve deeper into the firm’s inner workings – get to the nuts and bolts of it all.
That is revealed in the firm’s philosophy and values.
Then you will want to see if that lines up with how they actually operate. For example, do their client testimonials reflect a commitment to those values?
Many medical consulting agencies will tout a commitment to their clients. They will say that serving their clients is a top priority. But do they walk the talk? Look at what their clients are saying. Do they feel valued? Do they feel that there is a commitment to their success?
Other values that medical consulting agencies should both mention and demonstrate include:
- Ongoing training and self-development.
- A commitment to a positive, healthy work environment.
- Basic values like trustworthiness, responsibility, kindness, and generosity.
That is what we strive to maintain every day. Our dedication to a positive work environment and value-based culture begins with our staff and is passed on to our clients.
In fact, to quote one of our tenured customers, (the company later merged/sold):
“We have worked with The Fox Group since the inception of our company…in 1994. It was with their assistance that our corporation was founded. They have been instrumental in our expansion from service in one location to our current size, offering service in 20 different locations…clarity of focus whether assisting in strategic plans, budget forecasts, or authoring marketing collateral…They have provided the ‘Big Picture’ to counter our sometimes myopic viewpoint. We highly recommend The Fox Group.”
Medical consulting agencies are there to help you achieve your organizational and operational goals. However, just like any business partnership, you have to take the time to find the one that will work the best for your unique situation. The Fox Group is dedicated to addressing our clients’ needs, and we thrive off the positive partnerships that we cultivate along the way.