Providers Seek Specific Strengths When Contracting With an IT Advisory Services Firm

OREM, UT, June 01, 2011 (Press-News.org) Information technology is now a huge part of the administration of healthcare facilities in the United States. Keeping up with new regulations, payment paradigms, and care delivery models is a daunting but necessary responsibility; providers need help to accomplish this, and there are plenty of IT advisory firms willing to offer assistance.

Providers must consider ARRA funds, Meaningful Use, and the rest of the litany of technology advancements the healthcare industry will demand of them over the next few years. The new KLAS report, "Advisory Services: Navigating the Maze of Performance and Choice," offers providers insights into more than a dozen advisory services firms, and details ways to differentiate between the choices to determine which firm is the right choice for their facility.

The report considers nine IT advisory services: Clinical Transformation, Gap Analysis, Infrastructure Planning, IT Assessment, IT Strategy/Planning, Pre-Implementation Planning, Readiness Assessment, Revenue Cycle Assessment, and Vendor Selection. Results from 260 survey participants identified a total of 20 firms they currently contract with, of which 15 qualified for inclusion in this report.

"Most of these firms received high scores and many offer some of the same services," says Lorin Bird, KLAS research director and author of the report. "However, an in-depth analysis of their engagements reveals that specific differentiators--costs, tools & methodology, the actual deliverable, and the knowledge and quality of an advisory firm's talent pool--are ultimately the benefits providers look for when contracting with an IT advisory services firm. Providers' ability to match their needs to the firm's capabilities is one of the most critical factors to a successful IT advisory services engagement."

The report reviews major factors that triggered respondents' selection of one IT advisory services firm over the others.. For instance, customers selected ACS based on recommendations and referrals, CSC for their knowledge of vendor applications, Dell for their knowledge of MEDITECH, CTG for their subject matter expertise, and IBM for their talent pool. CSC, Deloitte, and Dell showed the greatest depth and breadth of engagement, appearing in almost all IT advisory areas. Unlike most other firms in this report, these three helped implement selected technology, new IT strategic road maps and/or put in place the operational structures they recommended. Regardless of what any of these firms offer, exceptional talent ranks high as a 'must have' for providers.

The report reveals the strategy work of Aspen Advisors, Encore, IBM, Impact Advisors, and PwC rated above 90, with no firm scoring below an 80. IT Assessment work showed greater variability, with ACS, Aspen Advisors, and Impact Advisors all scoring above 89, but with Cerner lagging far behind the pack; Kurt Salmon (KSA) was the clear leader in selection services. Impact Advisors ranked highest, with an overall performance score of 94. Encore, Dell, KSA, and Aspen Advisors were close behind when considering a combination of Planning & Assessment and Vendor Selection categories. Findings about Accenture, Courtyard Group, Cumberland, Hayes Management, Ingenix, Peer Consulting, Phoenix Health Systems, and Vitalize Consulting Solutions are also included in the report.

"The growing complexity of the healthcare IT regulatory environment," said Bird, "has produced an escalation of healthcare provider requests for help with a wide variety of IT strategy and operational engagements. There is a plethora of firms available to provide that help, but the strengths and options are diverse, and the arena complex. Providers seeking to engage IT advisory services will be well-served by reading the information on each firm found in "Advisory Services: Navigating the Maze of Performance and Choice" before short-listing, and firms looking to gain a stronger foothold in the still-growing market must understand exactly what the providers are looking for."

For more information about the IT advisory services market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of measured firms, "Advisory Services: Navigating the Maze of Performance and Choice" is available online to healthcare providers for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors and vendors. Working together with executives from more than 4,500 hospitals and over 2,500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures the performance of software, professional services and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.comor call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.