KLAS: Deloitte, ACS Emerge as Leading Consultants
With more than 90 percent of U.S. hospitals still trying to reach the proposed adoption hurdle for CPOE, many organizations are looking to invest in professional services firms that can help them obtain stimulus funding, according to a new report from Orem, Utah-based KLAS.
The report - entitled, Getting to Stimulus Funding: Which Consultants Can Help - reviews the clinical implementation, clinical transformation, staff augmentation and advisory services capabilities of more than a dozen professional services firms.
When it comes to clinical implementations, KLAS found that Deloitte and ACS have joined CSC as key players, while IBM participates in significantly fewer projects compared with a few years ago. In terms of overall performance when acting as the lead on clinical engagements, ACS, CTG and Deloitte are in a dead heat, scoring a full 10 points above the next closest firm, Accenture. Both IBM and CSC have dropped dramatically in terms of large clinical implementations, and neither 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).
KLAS also examines smaller specialty firms in the report, nothing that firms like maxIT Healthcare and Vitalize have experience working with several vendors and offer 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.
The report also explores the benefits of clinical transformation engagements, which encompass not just technology but also clinician workflow and process redesign. In addition to the large full-service firms, Dearborn Advisors has the most experience in these expansive engagements.
Firms highlighted in the report include Accenture, ACS, CSC, CTGHS, Dell Perot Systems, Deloitte, IBM, Coastal, Hayes Management, Innovative Healthcare Solutions, Ingenix, maxIT Healthcare, Peer Consulting and Vitalize. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit http://www.KLASresearch.com/reports
New AMA Tool Helps Docs on Managed Care
Physicians seeking an alternative to the contracts offered by some managed care organizations can now rely on a new online resource from the Chicago-based American Medical Association (AMA).
The AMA says its new National Managed Care Contract (NMCC) and database can help physicians analyze and negotiate contracts with insurers and help provide relief from unfair corporate business practices.
According to the organization, the NMCC is the first comprehensive managed care contracting resource geared specifically to physicians. The AMA created the NMCC in an attempt to formulate model contract language that complies with the managed care laws of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and to cover the broad range of physician concerns with managed care contracts. It also provides physicians with a frame of reference to compare and evaluate any prospective managed care contract, the organization adds.
The searchable database associated with the NMCC provides physicians with access to updated statutes and regulations in all states. It covers the managed care contracting process, the managed care contract itself and the business relationship between physicians and managed care organizations after an agreement has been signed, it says.
AMA members can access the NMCC and database at http://www.ama-assn.org/go/nationalcontract.
Joint Commission Taps Mache as CIO
The Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Joint Commission has appointment John C. Mache as chief information officer for the enterprise, which includes The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare.
Most recently, Mache served as global vice president of the office products supplier ACCO Brands Corporation. He will be responsible for securing, promoting, planning, implementing, monitoring and maintaining The Joint Commission's information and technology assets.
Mache holds a master's degree in finance and management policy and environment from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and economics from Marquette University
Healthcare Informatics 2010 May;27(5):42
