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If you’ve decided that a healthcare consultant can help improve your healthcare practice, you’ve taken a step in the right direction. There are numerous benefits to drawing on the deep industry expertise of a consulting group for healthcare services. However, choosing a healthcare consulting firm is an important step in its own right. After all, choosing a consultant that fits your practice needs and can offer a variety of advisory services like payor contracting, revenue cycle management, and more isn’t easy. Fortunately, the best healthcare consulting firms all have similar traits that allow them to handle the most important healthcare challenges. These traits include:
- Knowledgeable human capital
- Analytics and data
- Contracting support
- Renegotiation competencies
- Credentialing support
- Understanding of the big picture
- Strong track record of success
We’ll take a look at each of these traits in-depth so you have a detailed checklist when exploring your options within the consulting industry. Read on to learn more what to look for in a healthcare industry consulting practice, including a tip on getting premier support and healthcare contracting for your practice today.
1. Knowledgeable Human Capital
One of the most important aspects of professional services firm is a knowledgeable base of human capital. What does this mean, exactly?
Premier healthcare consultancies employ a mix of healthcare experts and strong business minds. This combination offers the benefits of both worlds—what’s best for the patient and what’s best for the healthcare organization. All of the top healthcare consulting firms employ a combination of the following types of consultants:
- Generalists with a deep understanding of business growth and development planning
- Subject matter experts who can provide guidance on specific challenges in the healthcare space and life sciences
- Data and analytics professionals
- Legal and regulatory specialists
- Contract negotiators
What does a healthcare consultant do to offer value? These experts come together to offer a baseline of information which healthcare organizations can leverage to ensure positive results.
2. Analytics and Data
Every consulting firm today must be data-driven and analytically focused. The best healthcare consultancies employ a base of analytical minds that can interpret, model, and project data to drive growth. Pair this with the latest health systems, AI, and machine learning software, and you have a competent consultant ready to discover and analyze any inefficiency. Leading edge analytics can and should drive your business growth, so the top consulting firms can provide direction and guidance you won’t find elsewhere.
3. Contracting Support
The best healthcare consultancies help their clients sign better payor contracts and increase revenue. Contracting support forms the basis of these activities. The role of consulting firms in improving contracts between providers and payors cannot be understated. Some of the most important factors include:
- Improving market access
- Improving reimbursement rates
- Increasing revenue across the board
- Standardizing contracts to facilitate contract management among staff
- Developing a system of monitoring and evaluating contracts over time
By enabling providers to sign better contracts, premier healthcare consultancies create a sustainable revenue cycle for their clients, ultimately increasing customer value.
4. Renegotiation Skills
Renegotiating contracts can be one of the most difficult tasks for any healthcare provider. Payors typically have a leg up in the negotiating process because it is one of the core activities of that business. Conversely, healthcare providers tend to focus on patient care and are effectively less competent at managing renegotiation efforts. This can put your practice at a severe disadvantage when it comes to managing health plans and creating the best possible circumstances for their healthcare practice.
Finding the right healthcare consulting group can help providers retain the necessary skills to negotiate with payors and, in effect, help their clients get the best terms for their practice.
5. Credentialing Support
Many payors will omit certain providers from networks due to credentialing requirements. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for a provider to foresee these requirements due to their focus on patient care. The best healthcare consultancies will preempt these measures and ensure that clients are prepared for the implementation of credentialing requirements per their contracts.
They also ensure that no added measures are included in contracts that could potentially omit them from a given network. Networks are the bread and butter of any healthcare provider, making inclusion an important aspect of revenue management. Healthcare consultancies bring providers a unique ability to enhance inclusion in these networks that would be otherwise unattainable.
6. Understanding of the Big Picture
Sometimes big picture considerations can get lost in the shuffle of managing day-to-day operations for healthcare providers. The top consulting firms remedy this issue and help guide their clients on building a strategic vision with their expertise. Some of the main characteristics of big picture success include:
- Development of a mission, vision, and value proposition for a healthcare business
- Drafting short-term goals for success
- Creating a long-term strategic plan
- Understanding the needs and requirements of all stakeholders
A key factor why healthcare consulting is so important is that it helps providers drive success long into the future, and can create a sustainable vision for the business.
7. A Strong Track Record of Success
History is incredibly important in healthcare consulting. The top healthcare consulting firms retain a strong track record of helping their clients grow and remain successful far into the future. Any provider looking for a useful consulting firm to help them meet their business challenges should analyze the track record of a given firm before bringing them on.
Consulting is a unique field that can help drive performance at a fraction of the cost of bringing on full-time staff. Additionally, they can solve problems that hiring additional staff can’t—removing underlying inefficiencies. They can also provide invaluable tools like financial advisory services, expertise on the medical devices supply chain, management consulting, and more.
PayrHealth: A Leader in Payor Contract Management and Consulting
If you’re looking for a top healthcare consulting firm that embodies all of these seven important qualities, consider partnering with PayrHealth. We employ leading healthcare consultants that can help you transform your practice through better payor contract management, revenue cycle management, and more. With PayrHealth, you will sign better contracts, grow your team, and increase revenue. Contact us for a free consultation to learn more.
Sources
- Vault. 2020 Best Consulting Firms for Health Care Consulting. https://www.vault.com/best-companies-to-work-for/consulting/best-firms-in-each-practice-area/health-care-consulting
