Selecting a healthcare consultant, Part I: How to get started

Janet L. Scheuerman and Vaughan A. Smith outline the factors that determine why and when consulting services are appropriate, presenting an overview of the initial steps in consultant selection. The expertise of a consultant is often needed for specialized problems, problems needing immediate assessment, drastic rescue situations, difficulties that defy standard solutions, and changes in the regulatory and competitive environment. Many organizational and planning issues also require outside consulting expertise. Institutions use consultants for specialized information, an independent perspective, as catalysts for change, and for cost-effective service and education. The consulting process consists of five phases; Part I provides a careful analysis of crucial preliminary selection activities. An organizational commitment to the process must be made, and needs, key issues, and expectations defined before selecting a committee and identifying potential consulting sources. Part II will appear in the next issue of the JQA.