Consulting in Healthcare

Healthcare consulting is what I do and , thus was a natural choice for my first blog post !

While many believe that healthcare centers around the most important entity, the Patient, it is also a business and is subject to the same concerns as any other industry. The synthesis of business and healthcare can be a hard one to combine. This is why healthcare consulting has assumed unmatched importance.

Moreover, major global phenomenon including aging populations, rising affluence in emerging markets (and the accompanying “diseases of wealth”), and advances in medical techniques and technology have buoyed healthcare consulting through the recessionary period—and will continue to do so over the long term.

Putting numbers to its size, the current global healthcare consulting marketplace amounts to more than US$ 18 billion ( Source: Kennedy Healthcare Consulting Marketplace Report) with an unprecedented growth rate in following years.

Given the fragmented nature of the mammoth healthcare industry, its important to understand the structure of consulting practice in healthcare.

As depicted in the adjoining schematic, the
healthcare industry can be broadly categorized into 4 segments. Healthcare consulting firms typically work with clients based out of any of these segments. A closer look would help better understanding.PAYERS comprise of any entity/organization who pays/finances for the healthcare services rendered. They include insurance companies, TPAs', claims clearing houses etc. This is especially relevant in health systems having a third party payment system such as the United States.All MNC consulting firms ( Mckinsey, Accenture, Deloitte etc) have a dedicated payer practice for serving such clients. PROVIDERS are organizations and individuals providing healthcare services. It could be anything ranging from a physician to multi specialty networked hospitals. All homegrown healthcare consultancies ( Apollo Global Projects, Hosmac MedicaSynergie ) primarily work for clients in the provider space with different capabilities.GOVT/REGULATORY BODIES envisage all government machineries involved in public health policy planning, strategy formulation and other regulatory activities. Public health consulting falls under this domain.LIFE SCIENCES include the bio pharmaceutical industry and medical devices.

Within each of the industry segments, consultants have different engagements with their clients. The India healthcare consulting market is dominated by Providers and Government segments followed by Lifesciences and an insignificant Payer share while globally there are equal opportunities in all segments

While deciding upon a career path in healthcare consulting its important we realize which segment do we intend to focus !