ABSTRACT
Diagnostic consultancy is similar to the process of a clinical consultation. It attempts to establish the true underlying problems that beset a practice in the same way the clinician looks for the underlying causes of presenting illness in the consulting room. This chapter discusses the following issues in practices: partners, policies, the practice manager, management expertise, staff, and the structures and environment. Diagnostic consultancy is also good at ending ways of helping a practice move forward when the team feels blocked. Often the ways forward suggested by the diagnostic process require additional external support, such as longer-term follow-up after a period. The benefits of diagnostic consultancy visits can take years to be felt fully, but there are several principal outcomes. They are identifying the real, as distinct from the presenting, issues in practices, moving the practice forward, creating an effective team, and revealing practice strengths.
