Consultants aren’t hired to be your friends
Be prepared for an adversarial relationship
In an ideal world, access managers would get to hand pick the consultants they work with and develop mutual goals and methods. But in reality, veteran admitting directors say, the relationship can become adversarial.
This is especially true when the admitting director doesn’t get to choose the consultant, says Peter Kraus, CHAM, systems liaison manager of patient accounts services at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. "They may be called in by your higher-ups, and you have to work with them," he says.
Kraus says he’s had an excellent relationship with some very good consultants most notably during computer installations but when it comes to other organizational goals, the road can be much rockier.
"When consultants are paid to tell you how to do more with less, for example, their goal is not to make life easier for you but to make a report that will please your boss," he says. "In some cases, the relationship can become adversarial."
Such consultants can help, but it’s important to guard against the possibility that they can’t, Kraus advises. He offers these tips:
• Consultants may know alternate ways of getting the job done, but then again, they may be working from surveys that don’t apply to your operation. Keep in mind that they may not be comparing apples to apples.
• If the relationship becomes adversarial, be prepared to defend yourself. Document the information you’re providing the consultant and then quietly watch what they’re doing and what they’re missing.
"If they issue a report saying, You can do without five FTEs,’ make sure it’s documented where those cuts are going to occur," Kraus suggests. "They might have left out, for example, the fact that your department does preadmitting.
"Keep them honest," he adds. "Remember why they’re there they’re not your friends."
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