What is Medical Consulting and Why is it so Valuable?
The healthcare industry has several different sectors under its umbrella. One of the sectors that is not well known is Medical Consulting. Dr. Eldor Brish provides an insider perspective on working as a Medical Consultant, as he is currently serving as a consultant for Lonestar State Medical in Texas.
Medical consultants are also known as Healthcare consultants. They are responsible for the management and analytical information in the healthcare industry. The consultant must be able to support the organization by being efficient, reviewing and managing profits, and improving the operational process by implementing different methods of improvement.
About medical consulting
Medical consultants are hired by a healthcare organization for either part-time, per diem, or full-time work. The employment status varies depending on the size of the company and their objective. For larger companies, a consultant will be full-time to help improve and organize daily activities. For smaller companies, the employment status will be per-diem, meaning day to day, or part-time because the company does not need daily contributions for implementation of operations from the consultant. Medical consultants have the choice of working for a company or going into business for themselves.
Duties
The consultant is hired to help an organization fix problems that have been identified as problematic. After identifying the problem that the organization wishes to fix, the consultant will do research and analyze the existing data to problem-solve. For the organization, this can be employment data, patient data, onboarding practices or operation data to name a few. From that information, the consultant will proceed to find solutions to have the organization working efficiently.
A report is drafted, reviewed, and submitted after the research and analysis have been completed.
There are a few consultants that have the responsibility of interviewing potential customers or clients for their organization to tailor the information for implementation purposes. To understand better, if a client wanted to know several key statistics about a doctor to better evaluate their performance, a medical consultant would interview the patients of the doctor about the care that was provided. From the gathered responses, the consultant would provide suggestions on how the doctor could improve his or her patient satisfaction ratio. A medical consultant would also be responsible for project development and building strategies that coincide with the client’s business needs. There are also medical consultants that can help startups give a breakdown on how to start a business.
Education and Skills
When it comes to education, Dr. Eldor Brish MD is familiar with the qualifications for the profession. This can vary heavily based on the particular healthcare employer. The basic qualification is a bachelor’s degree. There are employers that prefer for a medical consultant to have a master’s degree when it pertains to a private business. A healthcare background or a medical degree is certainly an advantage in healthcare consulting. The majors that are sought after include a bachelor’s or a master’s in management, business, marketing, economics, or human resources. Either of the majors can be paired with a minor in healthcare.
Skills that should be possessed include taking initiative, needing little supervision, excellent communication, and the ability to effectively present improvements to a client or customer. With the duties involved, a consultant must have strong research skills, pay great attention to detail, and have the knowledge to instrument industry-specific regulations, policies, and guidelines. Being familiar with Office applications is also a must.
In the healthcare industry, a consultant must have the ability to remain calm under stress because this allows the consultant to oversee different projects and still perform well under pressure.
Most jobs within the healthcare field require specific certifications to be a candidate. This is not a requirement for a medical consultant. Now, if you do acquire a certification to solely become a medical consultant, it is recommended to receive a Certified Management Consultant (CMC). This certificate shows that you are ready to commit to the customer and employer. A consultant must get re-certified every three years.
Salary
Affording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic, the median annual salary for medical consultants was estimated at $81,320 in 2015. Bonus and incentives were not factored in this median salary.
About Dr. Brish
Dr. Eldor Brish MD attended the University of Texas in Austin, TX and received his B.A in 2001. Dr. Brish continued his education at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Maryland in 2005. Dr. Brish completed a pain fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center and was an attending physician at several locations including East Texas Medical Center and South Texas Clinic for Pain Management.
Woah. Now, that salary is something really encouraging. But those skills sounds like a lot though one can always come round after a while for a start it may look a bit difficult!