http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/when-is-it-time-to-bring-in-a-consultant/424031/

There are several good reasons to hire consultants. One is a lack of internal resources. That could be due to management vacancies, or the proposed project could be temporary in nature and hospital officials don’t want to divert existing staff or hire more full-time employees to get it done.

Still another reason is to get a gut check on decisions that are of vital importance to the organization, like planning an acquisition or a major capital expansion.

In other cases, hospitals may have expertise, but bringing in a third party — say, to assess a vendor selection process — can lend independence and objectivity to the solution, resulting in more confidence in the final decision, says Brad Armstrong, senior partner at T2C.

Hospitals turn to consultants during mergers and acquisitions, not only to advise the logistics of deal itself but also on operational changes — figuring out how to bring two entities together in a way is more efficient and functional. Consultants can also bring needed expertise to issues like staff productivity and operational efficiencies.