Top 10 Healthcare Consulting Firms – Management Consulted

Are you passionate about healthcare but don’t want to work in industry? If so, healthcare consulting may be for you. Within the healthcare space, it is important to understand which areas you find most appealing.

For example, some generalist consulting firms like the MBB firms, have expertise across several healthcare sectors (providers, payers, and pharmaceuticals). On the other hand, other healthcare consulting firms like ZS Associate primarily focus on pharmaceuticals. One of the main benefits of working at a top healthcare consulting firm is the ability to secure casework within the healthcare industry, given the casework is generally abundant.

This article will share more around the top 10 healthcare consulting firms and what makes each firm special.

Top Healthcare Consulting Firms List

1. BCG

Website: www.bcg.com
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Executive Team: Christoph Schweizer (CEO)
Specialty: Works across the healthcare industry, including: payers, providers, systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals
Notable Projects:

For a pharmaceutical company: supported 50% improvement in underperforming product’s revenue by improving promotions and customer engagement
For a medtech company: helped increases sales rep productivity by >100% through their build-operate-transfer approach

Awards: Best Company for Women, Best Company Culture

2. McKinsey & Company

Website: www.mckinsey.com
Headquarters: New York, New York
Executive Team: Bob Sternfels (Global Managing Partner)
Specialty: Works across the healthcare industry, including: payers, providers, systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals
Notable Projects:

For a regional payer: Supported growth by improving customer experience
For a healthcare system: Optimized its pharmacy services performance, driving $10M in annual savings

Awards: Most Prestigious Consulting Firms

3. Bain & Company

Website: www.bain.com
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Executive Team: Manny Maceda (Worldwide Managing Partner), Orit Gadiesh (Chairman)
Specialty: Works across the healthcare industry, including: payers, providers, systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals
Notable Projects:

Medical Imaging Company: Improved customer experience on B2C and B2B side, e.g., by redesigning consumer journeys for consumers
Insurance Company: Supported the creation of a new digital business model, including business model design, buildout, and launch

Awards: Glassdoor’s Best Place to Work

4. L.E.K Consulting

Website: www.lek.com
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Executive Team: Clay Heskett (Global Managing Partner)
Specialty: Life sciences is L.E.K.’s bread and butter
Notable Projects:

Global pharmaceutical company – supported design and build out of a new business development process to help company spur growth inorganically

Awards: #8 in Vault Consulting’s rankings

5. ClearView Healthcare Partners

Website: www.clearviewhcp.com
Headquarters: Newton, Massachusetts
Executive Team: Kevin Richard (Co-Founder and Partner)
Specialty: Pharma, biotech, and med tech
Notable Projects:

Mid-sized specialty pharmaceutical company: Diligenced potential companies to acquire to execute on strategy that ClearView Healthcare Partners informed

Awards: #22 in Vault Consulting’s rankings

6. Deloitte Consulting

Website: www2.deloitte.com
Headquarters: New York, New York
Executive Team: Dan Helfrich (Chair & CEO, Deloitte Consulting), Ambar Chowdhury, (Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, Deloitte Consulting)
Specialty: Works across the healthcare industry, including: payers, providers, systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals
Notable Projects:

National hospital: Supported hospital’s migration to the cloud, supporting innovation and generating savings

Awards: Forbes one of America’s best management consulting firms

7. ZS

Website: www.zs.com
Headquarters: Evanstown, Illinois
Executive Team: Greg Walthour (Founder, CEO), Darcie Walthour (President)
Specialty: Pharmaceuticals and biotech, with a focus on technology and analytics
Notable Projects:

Gilead US Commercial Operations team: Provided a blueprint for Gilead’s US Commercial Operations team to obtain operational excellence
Global Pharmaceutical Client: Designed a tool to bring to health care professionals to improve the doctor-patient consult process

Awards: Built In’s No. 1 Best Large Places to Work in the US and one of the Best Places to Work in the US

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8. IQVIA

Website: www.iqvia.com
Headquarters: Durham, NC
Executive Team: Ari Bousbib (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Ron Bruehlman (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)
Specialty: Life sciences (e.g., pharma, biotech) and medical devices; focus on providing data-driven / technology solutions (e.g., advanced analytics)
Notable Projects:

Top 10 pharmaceutical company: Revamped fragmented IT system through its IQVIA Orchestrated Customer Engagement solution

Awards: Considered a leader by Everest Group’s Life Science Customer Experience Platform

9. Putnam

Website: www.putassoc.com
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Executive Team: Remco op den Kelder (CEO)
Specialty: Life sciences
Notable Projects:

Life sciences company: Supported development of long-term strategy for company’s rheumatology practice

Awards: LuxLife Magazine’s Philanthropy Advisor of the Year

10. Huron

Website: www.huronconsultinggroup.com
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Executive Team: Mark Hussey (CEO and President)
Specialty: Health systems and payors
Notable Projects:

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health: Improved patient care by optimizing processes, resulting in a drop in readmission rate

Awards: 2021 Workday Partner Industry Innovation Awards

Honorable Mentions: Top Healthcare Consulting Firms

Freed Associates

Website: www.freedassociates.com
Headquarters: Oakland, California
Executive Team: Dava Freed (Founder and CEO)
Specialty: Healthcare operations, strategy, revenue cycle, compliance, and analytics consulting

Conclusion

If you have a passion for healthcare consulting, there are a lot of firms to turn to! Some of the firms (e.g., Deloitte, McKinsey, BCG) are considered the traditional strategy consulting firms whereas others (e.g., ZS, IQVIA, ClearView) are smaller and focused more narrowly on healthcare.

The traditional strategy firms generally have healthy case work across multiple aspects of the healthcare sector (e.g., payor, provider, pharma) whereas some of the smaller players may focus on a specific niche within healthcare (e.g., ZS is well known for its work in the pharmaceutical space).

If you are interested in applying to a healthcare consulting firm, it is important to have an A+ answer on why you want to work in healthcare versus another field. If you are interested in prepping for a healthcare consulting interview with an ex-MBB consultant, please click here.