KLAS Ranks the Top Clinical Consultants
In terms of overall performance when acting as the lead consultant on clinical engagements, ACS, CTG and Deloitte are in a virtual dead heat, scoring a full 10 points above the next closest firm, Accenture, which is a significant performance gap, according to a new KLAS report: “Getting to Stimulus Funding: Which Consultants Can Help?”
Anthony Guerra Goes One-on-One with Mike Smith, KLAS GM of Financial and Services Research[audio:One-on-One-w-KLAS-Mike-Smith.mp3]
The report reviews the clinical implementation, clinical transformation, staff augmentation and advisory services capabilities of more than a dozen professional services firms, including both large full-service consultancies and smaller specialty firms.
IBM, the top-performing firm in 2006 for large clinical implementations, has dropped significantly, as has CSC. Neither firm has been able to maintain the high customer ratings once enjoyed by the healthcare-focused consultancies Healthlink (acquired by IBM in 2005) and First Consulting Group (acquired by CSC in 2007), according to KLAS.
While IBM and CSC enjoyed the lion’s share of larger clinical engagements a few years ago, Deloitte and ACS have now joined CSC as key players. IBM, on the other hand, participates in significantly fewer projects today, sliding to a smaller number similar to Accenture’s, the report states.
Full-service firms, however, are not the only option for providers looking to deploy and speed adoption of clinical systems. The study notes that firms like maxIT Healthcare and Vitalize have experience working with several vendors and offer solid teams of skilled consultants to fill supportive roles for providers’ smaller projects.
Other services firms — including Coastal, Ingenix, Innovative Healthcare Solutions and Peer Consulting — deliver highly rated implementation services primarily focused on a particular vendor or product, KLAS states.
The report also considers the benefits of clinical transformation engagements, which encompass not just technology but also clinician workflow and process redesign in order to improve quality of care. In addition to the large full-service firms, Dearborn Advisors has the most experience in these expansive engagements. Other firms offer advisory services to address initial clinical transformation steps.
The report is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.
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