Healthcare and life sciences consulting interviews, questions and cases
Healthcare and life sciences consulting interviews are case interviews set in pharma, biotech, medtech or hospitals, plus fit questions about why the industry. Expect to size a patient population, price or launch a drug and pick between products, and to explain why patients matter to you. L.E.K., ZS and Trinity publish practice cases you can work for free.
Updated
- Most of the math is one funnel. People with the condition, then diagnosed, treated and eligible, then share and price.
- Learn three basics. Trial phases, who pays for care and why a drug's price is not its cost.
- Three firms give away cases. L.E.K., ZS and Trinity each publish pharma cases on their own sites.
- Have a reason for health care. Trinity asks for a genuine interest in health care, and ClearView for a demonstrated interest in the industry.
What to know before a healthcare case
You don't need a science degree for most of these cases. You do need the patient funnel, a sense of how drugs get approved and who pays.
The patient funnel, worked on Trinity's caseWorked example
Trinity's practice case gives the shares. The 330 million US population is our round number.
Prevalence
3% have it: 9.9 million
Trinity says hyperhidrosis affects 3% of the US population. 330 million × 3% = 9.9 million people.
Diagnosed
About 30%: 2.97 million
Only about 30% of patients are diagnosed. 9.9 million × 30% = 2.97 million.
Treated
70% of those: 2.08 million
70% of diagnosed patients are treated. 2.97 million × 70% = about 2.08 million.
Eligible
60% have the right type: 1.25 million
The product treats underarm sweating, 60% of diagnosed, treated patients. About 1.25 million, which Trinity rounds to 1.2 million.
Peak revenue
About $204M against $300M
Product A: 1.2 million × 10% peak share × $1,700 a year = $204M, which Trinity calls about $200M. Product B, for wet AMD: 150,000 × 20% × $10,000 = $300M. Fewer patients, more money.
The answer
Numbers, then fit
Trinity's own answer weighs revenue against fit with a client focused on children's conditions, the size of the sales force each needs and which launches sooner.
How a drug gets approved4 phases
From the FDA's clinical research page.
Phase 1
Safety and dosage
20 to 100 healthy volunteers or people with the condition, for several months. About 70% of drugs move on.
Phase 2
Efficacy and side effects
Up to several hundred people with the condition, several months to 2 years. About 33% move on.
Phase 3
Efficacy and adverse reactions
300 to 3,000 people, 1 to 4 years. About 25 to 30% move on.
Phase 4
After approval
Safety monitoring in several thousand people once the drug is on the market.
In a case
About 6 to 7 in 100
Multiply the three rates and roughly 6 to 7 of every 100 drugs that start Phase 1 get through Phase 3. Use that when a case asks what a pipeline is worth.
Who pays for US health care2024 figures
From CMS's National Health Expenditure fact sheet.
In total
$5.3 trillion in 2024
18.0% of GDP, or $15,474 per person.
Payers
Private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid
Private health insurance paid 31%, Medicare 21%, Medicaid 18% and patients out of pocket 11%.
Providers
Hospitals cost far more than drugs
Hospital spending was $1,634.7 billion, against $467.0 billion for prescription drugs.
In a case
Ask who pays
A drug's price depends on what payers will cover, and a hospital's profit depends on its mix of payers. Say which payer you mean.
From Trinity: practice case, FDA: clinical research and CMS: NHE fact sheet.
What the firms say they look for
From each firm's own careers pages.
How you reach and defend a conclusion
L.E.K. uses case interviews to see how you marshal data and your own experience to reach and defend a conclusion, and asks you to commit to an answer but rethink with new data.
Real interest in the industry
Trinity wants a genuine interest in transforming health care. ClearView asks analyst candidates for a demonstrated interest in the healthcare industry, and describes its own people as sharing a passion for the life sciences.
Science and business together
Trinity looks for science and business courses and experience at the meeting point of the two. ClearView's analysts graduate in the life sciences with a demonstrated interest in health care.
Coachable and curious
Trinity asks for people who are coachable, intellectually curious and hungry to learn. ZS looks at how you apply feedback during the case.
From L.E.K.: interview preparation, Trinity: early talent, ClearView: undergraduates and ZS: case practice.
16 healthcare consulting interview questions
Case prompts in the style these firms publish, plus fit questions. Our own wording. Each note says what a strong answer does.
Case prompts7 questions
Clarify, structure, do the math out loud, then answer.
A pharma company is about to launch a new drug. How would you set the price?
What a strong answer does
Value to patients and payers, the price of current treatments, and the cost floor. Then what payers will cover, and the share you can win at that price. Practice it, see a model answer
- “Payers push back hard. What do you change?”
- “Would you launch at a high price and discount later?”
Our client can buy one of two late-stage drugs. Which should it pick?
What a strong answer does
Peak revenue for each from a patient funnel, then time to launch, competition, the sales force each needs and fit with what the client already sells.
A hospital's emergency room wait times have doubled in a year. Why?
What a strong answer does
Split demand from capacity: more or sicker patients against staff, beds and the flow of patients out of the ER into wards. Practice it, see a model answer
A blockbuster drug loses patent protection next year. What should the company do?
What a strong answer does
How fast generics will take share and price, then the options: defend the brand, launch its own generic, extend the life with new forms or shift money to the pipeline.
A medical device maker wants to sell to outpatient surgery centers. Should it?
What a strong answer does
How many procedures are moving out of hospitals, what the centers can afford, how they buy, and what selling there would cost.
How many sales reps does our client need to launch a specialty drug?
What a strong answer does
Start from the prescribers, not the patients: how many doctors treat it, how often each needs a visit, and visits a rep can make in a year.
Should a hospital system acquire a group of physician practices?
What a strong answer does
Referrals and patient volume it would bring, the price, what payers will do, and whether the doctors stay after the deal.
Market sizing3 questions
The patient funnel is the most common shape.
How many people in the US could take a new drug for a chronic condition?
What a strong answer does
Population, prevalence, diagnosed, treated, eligible for this drug. Say where each share comes from and round on purpose.
Estimate the number of dentists in the US.
What a strong answer does
From demand: people, visits a year, visits a dentist sees in a year. Then sanity check against what you know. Practice it, see a model answer
Your patient count looks too high. How do you check it?
What a strong answer does
Compare with a known number, rerun with a different method, and test the share that carries the most weight. Practice it, see a model answer
Fit6 questions
Expect a reason for the industry, not just for consulting.
Why healthcare or life sciences consulting?
What a strong answer does
One real moment that pulled you toward patients or science, and why advising companies beats doing the research or care yourself. Practice it, see a model answer
Why our firm over a generalist firm?
What a strong answer does
Something specific from its own pages, such as its case style, its clients or how it staffs, tied to how you want to work. Practice it, see a model answer
You are finishing a PhD. Why leave research?
What a strong answer does
What you will miss and what you want more of, such as pace, breadth or decisions. Show the move is a choice, not an escape.
Tell me about a time you explained something technical to people who weren't experts.
What a strong answer does
Who the audience was, the one idea you led with and how you checked they followed.
Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete information.
What a strong answer does
What you knew, what you assumed, how you limited the risk and what you would do differently. Practice it, see a model answer
Tell me about a time you received tough feedback.
What a strong answer does
The feedback, what you changed and the result. ZS and Trinity both stress learning from feedback. Practice it, see a model answer
More to prepare with
Mistakes in healthcare cases
Counting everyone with the condition
Only the diagnosed, treated and eligible can buy. In Trinity's case that cuts 9.9 million people to about 1.2 million.
Pricing from cost
A drug's price is set by value, alternatives and what payers cover. ZS's case names cost, value and competition.
Forgetting who pays
Patients, doctors and payers want different things. Name the payer in every pricing or hospital answer.
Jargon instead of clarity
Science words don't score points by themselves. Say what a term means for the client's money.
How to prepare in two weeks
Days 1 to 3
Learn the three basics
The patient funnel, the four trial phases and who pays. Rework the funnel above from memory.
Days 4 to 7
Work the firms' cases
Trinity's full case, ZS's drug pricing case and L.E.K.'s pharma prompt, out loud and timed.
Days 8 to 11
Size markets daily
One patient or device market a day. Say each share and why.
Days 12 to 14
Prepare your why
Why the industry, why the firm and one story of explaining science to non-experts.
Free practice cases and what the firms publish
Work these out loud before you read the firms' guidance. Each row says only what the firm's page says.
L.E.K. ConsultingThree sample prompts
Uses case-based interviews. One sample is Large Pharma Co.: a daily pill that regrows hair. Estimate the market and say how you would price it.
L.E.K.: interview preparationOur L.E.K. guide
ZSThree sample cases
Its second case prices a new COPD drug from cost, value and competition, with a patient count from the US population.
ZS: case interview practiceOur ZS guide
Trinity Life SciencesA full practice case
A mid-size pharma company picks between a hyperhidrosis product and a wet AMD biosimilar: size both, compute peak revenue, then argue each side. Its MD, PhD and PharmD externship interviews are a self-recorded video, then one 45-minute video interview with case and behavioral parts.
Trinity: practice case studyClearView Healthcare PartnersPrograms and staffing
US summer analyst applications open in July. Projects run about 4 to 6 weeks with teams of 4 to 6, one project at a time, for biotech, pharma and medtech clients.
ClearView: careers FAQPractice a healthcare case out loud
Soreno's AI interviewer runs a case one question at a time, follows up like a real interviewer and scores structure, math and judgment. Free for 7 days.
Questions people ask
Do I need a science, MD or PhD background for healthcare consulting?
Not always. ClearView's analyst roles ask for a life sciences degree, and Trinity looks for science and business courses. Both firms want interest in the industry itself, so show it whatever your major.
How is a healthcare case different from a standard case?
The structure is the same. The math leans on patient funnels, and the judgment leans on payers, regulators and doctors, who all affect the answer.
How do you size the market for a new drug?
Start from the population, then take the share with the condition, the share diagnosed, the share treated and the share your drug fits. Multiply by peak share and the yearly price for revenue.
What is a Trinity Life Sciences interview like?
Trinity publishes a full practice case. For its Transition to Trinity externship it describes a self-recorded video reviewed by its talent team, then one 45-minute video interview with case and behavioral parts.
What metrics matter in a hospital case?
Patient volume, beds and how long patients stay, staff, the mix of payers and the cost and payment for each kind of case. CMS puts US hospital spending at $1,634.7 billion in 2024.
Is Soreno affiliated with these firms?
No. Soreno is an independent practice tool, not affiliated with L.E.K., ZS, Trinity, ClearView or any firm named here. The questions are Soreno's own.