 By Stephen C. Fitzer
BCMS CEO/Executive Director
Physicians each have a specialty. Their specialty is what they are typically passionate about and love to do. Physicians study it, practice it, debate it, attend CME about it and get better at it every day they practice.
Physicians also show their respect for their physician peers by referring patients to other specialists in recognition of their acquired knowledge and experience.
Because physicians have proven their high level of intelligence via the natural screening and sifting process that happens as they pass through college, medical school, internship, residency, fellowship and actual practice, they sometimes are hesitant to defer important medical and non-medical decisions to business advisors or consultants. While physicians are intelligent and know many things in and around the delivery of healthcare, there is no one who can be an expert in everything. Using business advisors or consultants sometimes is the right thing to do.
It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that not all business advisors are created equal. Some have finely honed talents, experience and perspective, while others are only pretenders—or charlatans. The trick is to know who’s who. There are several ways to find out but it always takes time, which is something many physicians just don’t have.
As a rule, we can’t (nor should we) hire business advisors for everything. However, it makes sense to use them when there are serious consequences to getting things wrong. Good examples of when to use business advisors are in handling lawsuits, investing large sums of money, navigating complex government regulations, and yes, entering and exiting the business
of medicine.
So, if you plan to hire an outside business advisor or consultant, what are the steps you should take? First, ask around. Ask the peers you respect who may have had a similar problem where they got their advice. Did it work out well? What lessons did they learn from the process? Experience speaks volumes. Even if a peer had a bad experience, talking with them about it helps you to avoid making similar mistakes. If they had a good experience, put that business advisor on your list of possible resources.
Second, don’t sign up the first advisor who gives you a sales pitch. Ask them to put a proposal in writing, detailing what they will do for you. Ask them to price their services in component parts so you can choose what you want. Get proposals from competitive firms as well and compare bids. If the proposals are for different sets of services, hone in on what you actually want and ask the advisor to re-bid the project. Ask lots of questions. Bring in a knowledgeable, trusted person who doesn’t have any conflicts of interest to help you evaluate the alternatives. Effort upfront will save you a lot of cost, frustration and perhaps failure later.
Ask potential business advisors who they have worked for in the past. Get at least three to five local references from physicians who have worked with the advisor and had the same or similar issues. Develop a list of questions and call the advisor’s references to see how things went. Ask probing questions. Were they happy with the process? Was the final dollar cost close to the amount in the proposal? Did the engagement have the desired outcome? Was the advisor easy to work with? Did they keep you informed of progress? Did they ask the right questions? Would you ever hire them again? Was it all worth it?
Make sure to hire an advisor who has been around a while. Often times, hiring a firm of experts rather than an individual gives more depth in developing cost effective answers. A good firm can afford to have legal, financial, marketing and operations savvy all in the same house. They are also more likely to have professional liability insurance, which you should require.
Finally, if you spend the money to hire an advisor, follow their advice. If you have done your homework and you have hired a true expert who can tell you what to do, do it. The business world is full of executives who have paid handsomely for advice, only to ignore it. Executives who ignore such advice generally fail. A truly professional business advisor will help you through implementation and help you to make your strategies successful. |
