However, every physician has limits to his or her level of business expertise as a result of an increasingly complex work environment. Opportunities for improvement or the need for crisis management may be recognized, but office staffs are frequently too focused on extinguishing the fires involving patient care and often lack specialized business skills, putting them in a position to benefit from outside advice. Knowing when you need to hire a consultant is crucial. However, the process is usually triggered by a crisis, akin to waking up with signs of appendicitis and discovering that you really do need a doctor as opposed to being able to simply swallow an antacid tablet and make the pain go away. Hiring a consultant for the wrong reasons, or hiring the wrong consultant for the right reasons, can be disruptive, unproductive, and expensive.
Consultants can provide an objective appraisal of existing plans or conditions and identify options.
Consultants can be used to reconcile differences of opinions within management, especially partners and employees. Consultants can serve as trouble shooters to determine unperceived weaknesses, and propose unbiased corrective action steps without getting bogged down in political ramifications. Consultants can provide specialized technical know-how in areas outside the practice's expertise or that require more time. Consultants can act as a catalyst to get something done fast or cause things to happen that otherwise would be delayed because of finger pointing and lack of accountability. This sometimes involves confrontational communications between key employees in order to candidly discuss problems and solutions.