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 www.KLASresearch.com/reports.
