Health Care Consulting for Dummies: A Question

[byeh2004]

Hey Guys,

What exactly does the industry of Health Care Consulting entail?

To me (and correct me if I'm wrong), Health Care Consulting firms are companies that can be hired by governments or private people to setup hospitals/clinics or improve upon the management and assess cost-effectiveness of health care delivery systems.

What else does this industry entail?

What are some international health care consulting firms? What do they do?

I really need a crash course on this

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[DrJosephKim]

It's an open field of possibilities. You can provide consulting services to many different "clients" based on their needs. Basically, think of it like this: There are many companies producing services or products. They are constantly looking for information to help them improve their business. How can you help? If you can provide a useful service as a consultant, then you have something valuable to offer.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I'd interviewed @ Kaiser Permanente 1/2 yr ago for a healthcare consulting role that was primarily internal -- how to improve operational effectiveness, supply chain management (getting stuff purchased and into the clinics/hospitals), probably getting paid faster, etc.

Having been in business for many years, it is amazing to me how frequently non-business folk ignore elements like.. we need to get paid for what we do. And if we're spending money on things, we need to make sure it's the best use of our money..do we measure how many days' of materials we have in our storeroom, or just fill them up? If we fill them up, how much $$ do we lose because some materials may spoil or become outdated before we can use them?

This is one aspect of healthcare consulting that interests me.. how to use business experience to assist healthcare operators to spend money and time as effectively as possible.

 

[byeh2004]

Thanks guys,

I feel a little embarassed asking this question because I'm actually going to public health school next year in health management. I'm coming straight out of undergrad, whereas a lot of my classmates this fall have worked in the industry for a number of years, so a lot of this is still new to me but I'd like to learn as much as I can before I start classes in Sept. I am attending Yale for public health and I will be in the health management program there with a concentration in global health. Sometimes I wonder how I even got in with such little experience, but I definitely would like to learn as much as I can before going to New Haven this fall.

My interest in health management is on topics that include initial development of hospitals or other health care delivery systems and health care quality assessment.

My global interest include health care systems in Lusophone countries (nations that speak Portuguese). This stemmed from starting an organization on my campus that went to Northeast Brazil to set up several health care projects this year in the city of Fortaleza and its surrounding region. One of the my current interests is health care in the country of East Timor, which is a fairly new country but still not quite secure due to rebel factions and Indonesian troops still present in the country. My overall interest in a global perspective is on how health care can be delivered to areas of political conflict.

My most immediate future plan is that I will be applying to a 5 year MD/MBA program next year. I envision a future career of practicing medicine in my own private practice while continuing to do international health care consulting on the side.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Best of luck! Let us know where you land.