Admit it: The right practice management consultant can work miracles. The trick is finding the sometimes-elusive "right" one. Here are 10 research tips from experts to make a match much easier.

1. Focus on exactly the assistance you need.
Say you're considering a consultant to improve your office's coding practices. "When you delve into specialty coding, you are in an entirely different ballgame from general coding," says Richard Blanchette, executive director of the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management in Pensacola, Fla. "Begin by recognizing that a general coding certification, such as CPC from the American Academy of Professional Coders, is totally inadequate to evaluate an office employee's knowledge of general surgery coding. In that situation, look to the Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists."

2. Consult colleagues for guidance.
If you're looking for a consultant with expertise in general surgery practice management, "ask your general surgeon pals, even if they're out of state," recommends Richard Hansen, vice president and managing principal at the Medical Group Management Association's MGMA Health Care Consulting Group in Englewood, Colo. "A general surgeon in Phoenix may know someone in Los Angeles."

Further, take engaging a consultant personally and don't necessarily rely on the opinion of a practice administrator. "Physicians need to ask other physicians how the consultant candidate works," Hansen says. "It's got to be physician-to-physician."

3. Talk to multiple candidates.
When interviewing practice management consultant candidates, don't narrow your options too soon. "Research at least three candidates," Hansen recommends. "Call them and say, 'Here's what we want.' You'll know right away if the consultant understands what's going on."
However, don't talk to too many. "I wouldn't go to 10 candidates," Hansen says. And Blanchette agrees. "Selecting a consultant is not a numbers game."

4. Research until you're completely satisfied.
"You should only contract with a consultant if you feel confident that the one you selected is the best fit for the job that you want done," Blanchette emphasizes. "Otherwise, throw them all out of the running and start over."

5. Listen for sincerity and practical experience.
Initial conversations with consultants can be very telling, Blanchette says. Contact your candidates by telephone and "listen for sincere interest in learning more details about the specific characteristic" you're looking for in a consultant. He adds that you should reject any potential candidate who attempts to expand the problem.

Listen, too, for an emphasis on practical experience. "Be suspicious of academic consultants who espouse theoretical structures and processes," Blanchette says. "There is not one organization in the entire world that is operated strictly in conformity with management theory."

6. Emphasize your interest in honesty.
"Approach your potential consultant in an adult-to-adult manner," Blanchette says. "You have a job that you want done and the consultant has the skills and insight to serve your best interests--even if that means providing negative information regarding you, if that should be the case. Otherwise, you are wasting both your time and your money to obtain lip service."

7. Consider alternatives to consultants.
Maybe a consultant isn't what you need, Blanchette says. You could try contacting PACHOM members who are certified medical managers in your specialty. "They would be knowledgeable people who would provide excellent advice, but would lack the global knowledge aura expected of professional consultants," he says. "They would certainly be more economical and may be more candid than some consultants."

8. Look when there's a need.
"You cannot start researching a consultant before you need one," Blanchette warns. "You likely have an office manager, an accountant and an attorney--resources that are similar to a family physician from the point of view of general business health. If you need a specialist, such as a cardiologist or orthopedic surgeon, you won't know which one until the need arises."

9. Use the Internet, but don't rely on it.
Hansen suggests an integrated approach combining an online search with your main focus on personal referrals. "You'll get great ideas at physician meetings," he says. "Doctors will say things to each other in person that no one will say on a Web site."

Blanchette notes that "researching online is one way to scan the horizon to see if anything stands out. There is little reason not to do it." However, he agrees that word of mouth is more powerful.

10. Take your time.
Researching a good practice management consultant will take ... as long as it takes. "You must feel confident that the consultant you select is the best fit for the job that you want done," Blanchette says. "Until you reach that point, it will take longer. If it does not, and you settle for someone, you will be disappointed with the result." And always check references.