A Consultant at Partners Consulting is a highly specialized healthcare technology expert who drives large-scale Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementations, optimizations, and support initiatives for major healthcare networks. Operating at the intersection of clinical workflows and advanced software configuration, these professionals ensure that complex systems—primarily Epic Systems—are tailored to meet the operational, financial, and clinical needs of healthcare providers.

The impact of this role is profound. By optimizing systems like Epic Ambulatory, MyChart, Willow, or Beaker, consultants directly influence patient care quality, clinician satisfaction, and hospital revenue cycles. They are responsible for translating clinical requirements into robust technical builds, ensuring seamless system integrations, and training hospital staff to navigate new digital environments.

This position demands a rare combination of deep technical mastery and high-level consultative skills. You will not only configure complex software but also act as a trusted advisor to healthcare executives and clinical leaders. Whether you are leading a multi-facility roll-out or troubleshooting a critical interface failure, your work directly supports the digital infrastructure that modern medicine relies upon.

To succeed in the interview process for a Consultant role at Partners Consulting, you must be prepared for a mix of deep technical scenario questions, behavioral assessments, and discussions regarding your client-facing experience. The questions are designed to evaluate how you handle high-pressure consulting environments and whether your technical expertise matches your resume.

Epic Technical & Troubleshooting Scenarios

These questions assess your hands-on build experience, system configuration knowledge, and how you systematically diagnose and resolve technical issues within specific Epic modules.

• "Describe the specific Epic modules you have built and walk me through how you would configure a piece of custom functionality from scratch."
• "How do you troubleshoot a system error or interface failure when a client reports that data is not flowing correctly between systems?"

Preparation for Partners Consulting requires a balanced focus on your technical credentials and your consultative soft skills. Because you will represent the firm directly to healthcare clients, interviewers look for candidates who can seamlessly blend into diverse hospital cultures while delivering immediate technical value.

Epic Ecosystem Mastery – You must demonstrate exhaustive knowledge of your certified modules. Be ready to discuss specific build tools, profile angles, and system definitions. If you are interviewing for an analyst role, expect to be grilled on hands-on configuration; if you are interviewing for a project management role, focus on implementation methodologies.

Consultative Problem-Solving – Interviewers will present you with vague, real-world client challenges. You must show that you can structure your thoughts logically, ask clarifying questions, and propose scalable, standardized solutions rather than quick, unstable fixes.

Client Management & Communication – You must project a polished, professional presence. This means showing that you can navigate high-stakes healthcare environments, manage conflicting priorities, and communicate technical concepts clearly to clinical staff and hospital executives alike.

Adaptability & Cultural Fit – Consulting projects are highly fluid. You need to show that you are comfortable with ambiguity, can quickly adapt to different organizational structures, and possess the resilience needed to handle demanding client timelines and travel schedules.

The interview process at Partners Consulting is designed to evaluate both your technical proficiency and your professional consulting demeanor. It typically spans several weeks and involves multiple stages, ensuring that you possess the rigorous technical skills required for specialized Epic builds, as well as the communication skills needed to represent the firm on-site.

The process generally begins with a standard recruiter screen to discuss your background, module certifications, and travel flexibility. Following a successful initial screening, you will progress to technical evaluations with peer consultants or team leads, followed by final interviews with hiring managers or project directors. A unique aspect of this process is that Partners Consulting will often verify your certification status and representation eligibility directly with Epic Systems before extending an offer.

This timeline outlines the typical progression from the initial recruiter touchpoint to the final hiring manager decision. Use this visual guide to pace your preparation, ensuring you focus on soft skills and travel logistics early on, before diving into deep technical scenarios for the peer rounds.

Epic Module Technical Depth & Troubleshooting

This evaluation area is the core of the technical screening. Interviewers want to ensure you are not just certified on paper, but that you have hands-on, practical experience building, testing, and maintaining complex Epic environments.

Be ready to go over:

• System Configuration & Build – Deep-dive mechanics of profile structures, category lists, security classes, and master files (INI/item configuration).
• Interface & Integration – How data flows between modules and external systems, particularly through Bridges or HL7 engines.
• System Troubleshooting – Your step-by-step diagnostic process when a build fails or clinical workflows break post-upgrade.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Custom programming, database structures (Clarity/Caboodle), and complex multi-facility release mapping.

Example scenarios:

• "A physician reports that they cannot see a specific order set in MyChart that was supposedly migrated yesterday. Walk me through your diagnostic steps."
• "Describe how you would configure a complex clinical calculator within Epic ClinDoc to trigger specific nursing documentation workflows."

Client Management & Consulting Delivery

As a consultant, you are the face of Partners Consulting. This area tests your ability to manage client relationships, handle resistance to change, and guide hospital staff through difficult system transitions.

Be ready to go over:

• Stakeholder Alignment – Techniques for managing competing priorities between clinical leaders, IT staff, and hospital executives.
• Scope & Change Management – How to handle scope creep and manage client expectations when custom build requests exceed project timelines.
• On-site & Remote Presence – Best practices for maintaining high engagement and delivering value in hybrid or fully remote consulting arrangements.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Leading steering committees, managing multi-million dollar budgets, and rescuing stalled implementations.

Example scenarios:

• "A Chief Medical Officer insists on a highly customized clinical workflow that will break during the next Epic upgrade. How do you advise them?"
• "How do you manage your deliverables when your primary client contact is unresponsive and unengaged?"

Data-Driven Impact & Billing Operations

For consultants specialized in billing, access, or revenue cycle modules (such as Resolute, Prelude, or Grand Central), the ability to demonstrate a quantitative impact is critical. Interviewers want to see that your technical builds translate into measurable operational improvements.

Be ready to go over:

• Statistical Proof of Impact – How you track and report on the success of your implementations using data.
• Revenue Cycle Optimization – Strategies for reducing claim denials, accelerating clean claim rates, and improving patient registration workflows.
• Value-Based Care Reporting – Configuring systems to support quality reporting, regulatory compliance, and clinical quality measures.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Custom SQL query design, advanced Clarity report building, and complex charge router configurations.

Example scenarios:

• "Provide an example of how you used data to prove that a system optimization you built reduced billing errors or claim denials at a prior client."
• "How would you configure the system to track and report on specific clinical quality measures required for value-based care reimbursement?"