Mark Beaumont MD is a life science consultant and healthcare executive who is dedicated to the proposition that every individual deserves high-quality healthcare. His career has been marked by a consistent drive to improve the productivity and efficiency of the operations he has worked with. Over the years, his business and analytical skills have proven effective in forwarding that goal.
In a time when the consulting industry is more pervasive than ever, we asked Mark what healthcare consulting means to him. Here is some of what we learned.
Mark Beaumont MD on Healthcare Consulting
The healthcare industry is complex, with an untold number of laws, regulations, and policies and a wide spectrum of technical and labor-intensive jobs. In such an environment, it can be difficult for even the most well-trained and talented professionals to mark their path forward. Mark Beaumont explains that healthcare professionals and organizations need consulting services to deal with the complex issues facing them and still deliver positive patient outcomes at the end of the day.
What is Consulting in Healthcare?
It is a process of sharing expertise, advice, and guidance with organizations and professionals in the healthcare industry. The idea of healthcare consulting is to improve patient care and outcomes in light of, and sometimes in spite of, the regulatory burden on healthcare professionals. But it is also to help organizations and professionals to improve productivity, working conditions for employees, enhance efficiency, and even help with public relations.
There are subcategories within the healthcare consulting space. They may include healthcare public relations consulting, legal consulting, help with billing issues, tax law advice, and so on. It would be very difficult for anyone to offer complete consulting services covering all the issues facing hospitals, clinics, and medical practitioners these days. However, Mark Beaumont MD points out, some healthcare consultants come closer than others to being full-spectrum healthcare consultants.
Who is Healthcare Consulting For?
More often than not, medical practitioners are consumed with their work. Their responsibilities are mentally and physically exhausting as well as extremely time-consuming. Few healthcare professionals have the time or the fortitude to deal with every issue that faces the institutions they serve. Healthcare consulting is for them, to help lighten the burden of dealing with a host of issues across a wide range of disciplines.
But, of course, in the final analysis, healthcare consulting is for the benefit of patients. By reducing the burden on decision-makers, more complete, soberer, and higher quality decisions can be made. At the end of the day, it is patient outcomes and customer service that should be improved, as that is the one value proposition of any medical practice.
What Are the Benefits?
Oftentimes, the most talented and dedicated physicians are the worst at running their practice as a business. That’s where the consultants come in. These professionals can help to identify missed revenue opportunities. They can help to build a better environment for staff and support. They can improve the returns on investments of all kinds. They can improve workflow, reduce stress, and enhance the patient experience.
That’s a big job, Mark Beaumont warns. But by working together, consultants with diverse backgrounds can help improve the performance of any medical organization.