Consulting: What do you attribute the practice's extraordinary growth to in these uncertain economic times?

Ritcheson: I think it's in large part because we're able to offer fairly safe, responsible and mature stewardship of their organizations, and a very successful track record in addressing their challenges. Clinical consultants offer a higher value capability to the client because they are not only providing their own insight and professional expertise, but they're also on the ground implementing solutions. So in many respects there's a two-for-one element. You're getting people with PhDs, and MDs who are also very effective change leaders and trusted advisors to their clients. I think, for example, in the health IT area and electronic health records. That sounds as if it's principally an information management IT concern, but it's not. Our clinical consultants fit in between the IMIT folks and the clinical personnel using this new system, and are able to act as a kind of bridge between the two parties.

This [Interoperable Electronic Health Record] is a major initiative that will be rolling out over the next several years, and this is a place in which clinical consultants can provide particular value. A lot of the growth is due to the changing geopolitical situation: the drawdown in troops means a large number of individuals returning with an array of complicated injuries and psychological disorders. This is a real challenge to our system and our models of care, it also represents a financial challenge. It's something that is in a large part unprecedented in the clinical world. I think we've been particularly good in this space because of our ability to muster clinical consultants to meet these challenges.

One on One with Dynamics' Dr. Andrew Ritcheson

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