A new JAMA study quantifies how nonprofit hospitals have turned to management consultants over the past decade. Researchers mined IRS Form 990 data and used machine learning to flag contracts exceeding $100,000, identifying 306 hospitals that hired consultants between 2010 and 2022. Overall spending topped $7.8 billion, averaging $15.7 million per institution. These figures raise doubts about the strategic return on such large expenditures.

The researchers matched consultant‑hiring hospitals with peers that never engaged advisors, then tracked revenue, margins, cash reserves and clinical outcomes such as readmission and mortality. No metric showed a statistically significant gain; the only deviation was a modest rise in stroke readmissions. Even after adjusting for size, results held steady, challenging the presumed efficiency boost.

Beyond the immediate financial question, the authors call for broader transparency about how tax‑exempt hospitals allocate consulting dollars, noting that inclusion of HR and IT advisors pushes total spending past $25 billion. Hospital executives now face a data‑backed prompt to scrutinize consultant hires, while policymakers may consider reporting reforms to ensure charitable resources support patient care rather than overall unproven efficiencies and patient safety.