You have decided to hire a healthcare consultant and you want to make sure that you hire the right one for the project you have been tasked with completing successfully. Before we get to the checklist a few important factors to consider and remember.

This process is not that much different than the process you have used to hire individual employees that work for you. There are a few essential differences when hiring a consultant.  The wide-ranging impact a healthcare consultant can have on your organization as a whole means you may want to gather a few other people to be a part of the interview team.  A few suggestions on who to include with the team would be the CFO, VP of Operations, and other people that will be working closely with the healthcare consultant. Once you have your team assembled use the following checklist:

Consulting Firm

• Do they have an understanding of the software you are using?
• Have they managed, staffed, and led projects?
• What are their payment and contract terms?
• What is their vetting process for consultants?
• Do they conduct drug testing on their consultants?
• Establish billing and reimbursement terms, travel days

Evaluate Resumes

• Look at general and related work experience they have.
• How long have they worked in the field or product you are using?
• What are the unique strengths of the consultant?
• What additional skills do they have?
• Is there a summary of qualifications for the unique software you are using?

Interview

• You should have more than one resume from your firm to review
• Establish question/topics as criteria
• Schedule interviews with stakeholders
• Ask specific software questions
• Does consultant have any “time off” scheduled

Select a Consultant

• Who will they work with/report to?
• Inform them of the Scope of Work
• Were they honest in the interview, integrity is much more important than technical skill.

Orientation and Consulting Assignment

• Schedule orientation – HIPAA, business associate agreement signed?
• Resources, i.e. computer, desk, phone
• Cover project plan/ timeline
• Cover milestones and deliverables

Progress – Reporting

• Will you receive a weekly report from consultant or firm they work for?
• Weekly or bi-weekly meeting with consultant and consulting firm
• Is consultant performing as projected?
• Are they meeting goals and milestones?

 Of course each project is different and you will need to adjust the details of your interview and hiring process based on each project.

This checklist is a general overview to help get you started with the hiring process of healthcare consultants. If done the right way, your organization will have the right person that can work for the limited time needed to accomplish the project.  They will bring in knowledge that is needed and work for the improvement of the organization.