HIT Staffing vs. Consulting Firms – Going for the Gold!

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England have put on some great competitions for America’s athletes. Have you been watching? My husband and I are all ‘red, white, and blue’ crazy about this event along with most of the media build up prior and during these games. We were all “hyped-up” and looked forward to some exciting athletic rivalries from America in several sporting categories, including these to name a few such as: U.S.A. Men’s Swimming – Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte, both achieved exciting Gold Medal wins! Our U.S.A. Women Swimmers – Missy Franklin vs. Dana Vollmer vs. Rebecca Soni and Katie Ledecky – this little 15-year old really “kicked butt” and all of them won all kinds of gold medals! U.S.A.Women’s Gymnastics – Jordyn Wieber vs. Gabby Douglas vs. Aly Raisman U.S.A. Women’s Tennis – Serena Williams vs. (Serena Williams?)…no other American women tennis player is in her league right now)…and then (well no surprise here) – Serena achieved a Gold Medal by a decisive win over Russia’s Maria Sharapova! OK – so what does all of this about the 2012 Olympics have to do with Healthcare IT? For me a lot, as I also read the post of fellow Healthcare IT Today blogger, Arthur Damon entitled – Why Many HIT Pros and Facilities are Choosing Staffing Firms Over Consulting Firms. I continued being very interested after reading the replies to Arthur’s blog topic, especially great comments and insights provided fellow Healthcare IT Today blogger – Joe Lavelle.

With only about 1 in 10 hospitals nationwide who have adopted even basic electronic record-keeping and the massive shortage of EMR / EHR trained professionals, understanding this topic of Staffing vs Consulting is important. Healthcare IT professionals in the EMR jobs industry generally migrate to either Staffing Firms and/or Consulting Firms based on common goals both of these types seek to deliver, a goal based on providing what’s best for the healthcare facility and their patients. Most EMR Implementations that I have been a part of, require a massive “team effort” and always consist of a combination of the Client’s full-time employees, the EMR Vendor’s staff, and “temporary staff” (from staffing and/or consulting firms) – check out my blogs entitled – It takes a [Healthcare IT] Village” and Ready, Set, Go-Live (a.k.a. All the buzz around an EMR activation “beehive”!) if you want to get a birds-eye view of what it takes regarding this team effort.

For successful EMR Implementations, it’s all about the “Team” – the placement firm’s methods and business model contrast is secondary; to the Healthcare IT professionals placed on these assignments and to the client. Quite frankly– what type of firm gets the professionals to the client assignment is usually inconspicuous; being treated fairly, ensuring one’s capabilities match the client’s expectations, pay and expenses made per terms of the contract/employee assignment agreement is also what makes good resources great. Great resources keep the client happy, happy clients drives who they continue to select to fulfill their employment staffing/consulting requirements. Sometimes it’s best suited from a staffing firm, sometimes it’s best suited from a consulting firm, most of the time for successful EMR Implementations it’s a combination thereof. Reach the Client’s main expectation; assignments completed on-time, under budget, services provided as expected, and a top-notch expert knowledge exchange upon project assignment end…and the healthcare facility client will not be disappointed!

I have over eight (8) years of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Implementation experience, as a vendor (Epic) certified EMR professional. I have worked (first as a full-time healthcare facility employee, then for many years as a traveling EMR Healthcare IT Consultant for hospitals and clinics nationwide, and most recently with my current status as a consulting firm small business owner. Therefore, my perspective on this topic set forth by Arthur Daman’s blog, is from my direct experience working for both of these types of firms – Staffing and Consulting.

Ryan Lochtee got to the 2012 Olympic Games by a different training method and coaching model (his coach is also his Father), then his U.S.A. swim team rival and team-mate Michael Phelps. Each of them won individual swimming Gold Medals, and then collectively they joined together for the Men’s swimming relay challenge and won the Gold Medal for  “Team U.S.A.” Each and every member of the 2012 U.S.A. Women’s swim team got there by a variety of training methods and coaches, and they hail from different regions nationwide – but all of these athletic rivalries provided the same level of excitement night after night as they first challenged each other (and then other athletes from around the world) as they each won individual Gold Medals. Then collectively this ‘fierce’, but smiling group of women also came together for the various relay team challenges and won the Gold Medal for “Team U.S.A.”

U.S.A Women gymnasts Aly Raisman,  Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas each got to the 2012 Olympic Games by different training methods, coaching and personal paths. Collectively, along with the other ‘Fab/Fierce five” they went for the Gold and achieved it and won Gold Medals for “Team U.S.A.” Additionally, Gabby achieved an opportunity for the challenge in the coveted women’s gymnastics all-around (against all odds) where she once again went for the Gold and achieved it! She was crowned the single best women gymnast for 2012. Gabby also became the first African-American women gymnast to achieve this honor. Gabby made history by becoming the first to win both the team Gold Medal, along with the all-around Gold Medal in the same Olympic Games. (…you think little Gabby is my favorite of these Olympics? Yup!) Serena and Venus Williams got the 2012 Olympic Games by a different training method and coaching model then any of their U.S.A. and World tennis rivals. These ladies became the only Tennis players to win four Gold Medals in the same Olympic Games year – what an honor for “Team U.S.A.”

All of these Olympic athletes got to the 2012 Olympic Games by different training methods and coaching models – each won Gold medals individually and they also came together to collectively win their various team challenges to achieve Gold Medals for “Team USA”…. and their American public was not disappointed!