Find your tech tutor: What doctors need in a systems consultant

Whether you're in solo practice or a large group, at some point you might need a consultant to help with information technology needs. Here is what a consultant will do, and what you should ask this person before signing a deal.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. March 12, 2007.

As soon as the physicians in her 16-doctor group gave her the green light to implement an electronic medical records system, Patricia A. Brown knew immediately which technology consultant she wanted to help guide the practice through the EMR planning and vendor evaluation process.

She had listened to the consultant speak several times at Medical Group Management Assn. meetings, and "I knew from observing and hearing her that she's top-notch," said Brown, administrator of Summit Medical Associates, Hermitage, Tenn.

Finding and hiring a health care technology consultant unconnected to an EMR vendor isn't easy. There aren't many around, given the fact that fewer than 20% of physicians have EMRs. Also, consultants aren't listed in a single directory and don't have an industry group certifying their expertise.

As a result, doctors typically find consultants through word of mouth from peers, or through exposure consultants gain from speaking at industry conferences, publishing articles or writing books. Some state medical societies, including North Carolina's and Virginia's, can help refer consultants to members, but the associations don't endorse them.

"There's plenty of information about technology consultants and consulting companies that can do the basic foundational hardware and things like that," said Mark Fotheringham, vice president of communications and membership at the Utah Medical Assn. "But to find those that have that expertise, and also understand how a physician's office runs and how a physician's office works, so that doctors can get the right stuff in there, may be harder."