ECG Management Consultants
Building a Healthier Future

Since its establishment in 1973, ECG Management Consultants (ECG) has been dedicated to bridging the gap between patient outcomes and institutional profitability. Possessing knowledge and expertise built over 50 years, it is a national consulting firm helping redefine and optimize the healthcare delivery system.

“The quality of a professional services firm is a direct reflection of its people. I am privileged to be surrounded by the most talented and dedicated healthcare consultants in the business,” says Chris Collins, CEO and President of ECG Management Consultants.

Collins’ visionary leadership guides a team of 300 specialists at ECG, enabling the firm to continuously adapt to meet the ever-changing needs of healthcare organizations across diverse sectors. The firm garners acclaim for its keen strategic insights and operational expertise. Offering a comprehensive range of strategic, financial, operational, and technology-related consulting services, ECG specializes in tailoring its expertise to suit the unique needs of hospitals, health systems, medical groups, academic medical centers, children’s hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, investors, and payers/health plans.

From Planning to Results

At the center of ECG’s consulting approach lies a systematic four-stage process designed to deliver practical solutions and drive sustainable growth. The journey commences with strategy creation, a foundational stage where ECG delves deep into the intricacies of each client’s operational landscape. Here, thorough community health needs assessments, workforce planning, and strategic asset structuring converge to form the bedrock upon which tailored management strategies are developed. These strategies are not merely cookie-cutter solutions but rather bespoke frameworks, intricately aligned with the nuanced objectives and challenges unique to each client.

Building upon the strategic groundwork laid in the initial stage, ECG moves to the implementation phase, where theory meets reality and plans are transformed into actionable initiatives. Through a symbiotic partnership with clients, the firm facilitates the deployment of targeted solutions to tackle specific pain points and catalyze positive change within their organizations. Guided by strategic foresight and hands-on expertise, ECG navigates complex operational challenges, empowering clients to optimize performance across key areas and unlock newfound efficiencies.

As the implementation phase concludes, ECG transitions into the critical stage of results analysis, where the efficacy of deployed solutions is analysed. Armed with a wealth of data amassed through comprehensive evaluation, the firm probes the effectiveness of strategies and uncovers avenues for refinement. Leveraging evidence-based insights and cutting-edge analytics, it provides actionable recommendations to fine-tune performance and nurture sustainable growth over time.

Yet, ECG’s journey is far from static, for as the healthcare landscape evolves, so does the firm’s strategic outlook. ECG remains vigilant, continuously monitoring industry trends and regulatory changes to ensure clients remain at the vanguard of innovation. Through agile adaptation and strategic foresight, the firm equips clients with the tools and knowledge needed to traverse the competitive market, maximizing profitability and maintaining a steadfast competitive edge.

In addition to its core consulting services, ECG specializes in addressing critical healthcare challenges, including access to care, service line performance, and digital asset optimization. Through innovative technology solutions and proven best practices, the firm helps clients overcome barriers to success and achieve long-term objectives.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

ECG has made a significant impact on its clients, drawing on over 484 years of combined expertise and serving more than 3,000 health systems through over 16,000 purpose-driven engagements. One such case is its partnership with Easterseals Northern California (ESNorCal), where ECG exhibited a commitment to transformative process improvement, setting the stage for the organization’s future success. Tasked with addressing operational challenges, ECG revamped ESNorCal’s process improvement methodology, ultimately delivering tangible results and empowering the organization to better serve its clients.

ESNorCal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving children with developmental disabilities, faced a pressing need to meet the growing demand for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. Despite establishing a network of therapy providers, the organization struggled to offer therapy schedules that aligned with client needs and service level agreements with Kaiser Permanente. ESNorCal’s staff encountered frustrations stemming from manual data entry, communication barriers, and unclear roles and responsibilities, leading to dissatisfaction among clients, Kaiser, and network providers.

In response to these challenges, ECG swiftly mobilized a performance optimization team, leveraging lean Six Sigma principles to drive process improvement initiatives. Two concurrent work streams were established to address provider capacity management, client placement, and customer service. Through careful analysis and strategic planning, ECG mapped current-state workflows, defined operational requirements, and developed customized protocols to enhance efficiency and communication.

The capacity management-client placement workstream focused on establishing standard operating procedures, determining staffing needs, and identifying performance benchmarks for managing client placement. Meanwhile, the customer service workstream aimed to standardize processes, evaluate technology needs, and develop future-state staffing models. ECG’s introduction of a standardized methodology and toolkit for project management further streamlined operations and facilitated effective collaboration.

The results of ECG’s partnership with ESNorCal were profound. ESNorCal gained a deeper understanding of its client placement process and implemented tactics to enhance controls, increase the accuracy of provider capacity information, and improve client placement capabilities. Standard operating procedures enabled the organization to address customer issues more consistently and efficiently, empowering staff to serve clients better and transform organizational practices.

ECG stands poised at the forefront of healthcare’s rapidly evolving landscape, particularly in the post-pandemic era. Emphasizing the paramount importance of strategy and innovation, it advocates for a proactive approach to addressing forthcoming challenges and seizing emerging opportunities. The firm’s holistic methodology encompasses crafting enterprise strategies that distinguish health systems, ensuring seamless system integration, exploring novel avenues for growth and service diversification, leveraging digital health technologies for enhanced patient care and operational efficiency, and prioritizing health equity and well-being.

Renowned for delivering tangible results and upholding standards of excellence, ECG is a dependable advisor to healthcare entities globally, offering guidance with unwavering confidence and clarity.