Medical Practices Report More Spending On Technology And Increased Use Of Nonphysician Providers

Medical practices report more spending on technology and increased use of nonphysician providers

Physician owned, multispecialty practices responding to the MGMA Cost and Revenue Survey reported a 12.02% increase in spending on total operating costs per full-time-equivalent (FTE) physician since 2010.

With support needs for physicians, necessary upgrades, and adapting to the way multi-generational patients request healthcare, medical practices need to incorporate technology at a greater level. Physician owned, multispecialty practices reported an 11.87% increase spent on operating costs associated with technology since last year, spending $20,693 per FTE physician in 2014. Since 2010, this number has increased by 33.92%, showing how much impact the technology boom and mandated electronic health records has had on individual practices.

“As technology continues to evolve, medical practices must likewise also evolve,” commented Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, CEO of MGMA. “The way patients ask for and receive care is changing. The increased use of technology can improve the quality of patient care by improving records management, optimizing workflow and meeting HIPAA compliancy requirements.”

Medical practices also reported an increased utilization of nonphysician providers (NPPs), per FTE physician. Physician owned, surgical single specialties have seen a 44.07% increase since 2010 (a rise from 0.59 to 0.85 nonphysician provider FTEs per FTE physician.) Many medical practices are using NPPs as a solution to the physician shortage and the influx of new patients resulting from the Affordable Care Act. The context there being that it increases from 0.59 to 0.85 nonphysician provider FTEs per FTE physician. Many medical practices are using NPPs as a solution to the physician shortage and the influx of new patients resulting from the Affordable Care Act.

“NPPs are essential members of our healthcare delivery team,” states Michael Brohawn, Practice Administrator at Orthopaedics East & Sports Medicine Center and MGMA member. “They improve patient care by increasing the efficiency of our physicians which allows them to focus on more acute needs. NPPs also improve patient satisfaction by creating greater access and appointment availability, and they reduce the direct and overhead costs of the practice.”

The MGMA Cost and Revenue Survey: 2015 Report Based on 2014 Data features data from 3,120 groups and is the largest and most robust cost survey and benchmarking tool in the industry. The report includes data categorized by specialty, organization ownership and geographic section. The report also features data on staffing ratios, medical revenue, total operating costs and accounts receivable. The information is available on DataDive, an easy-to-use Web-based format that allows users to access and drill down data for analysis. Access the report for additional key findings: http://www.mgma.com/store/medical-practice-cost-surveys

Additional resources for physicians and medical practice executives:
MGMA 2015 Annual Conference, Oct. 11-14, Nashville. Register to attend as a media representative (http://www.mgma.com/mgma-annual-conference/registration/press-and-media).

MGMA Health Care Consulting Group (http://www.mgma.com/practice-resources/consulting), offering customized practice solutions on benchmarking, productivity improvement, financial management, revenue cycle analysis, and billing and coding.

About MGMA
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) helps create successful medical practices that deliver the highest-quality patient care. As the leading association for medical practice administrators and executives since 1926, MGMA helps improve members’ practices through exclusive member benefits, education, resources, news, information, advocacy, and networking opportunities, and produces some of the most credible and robust medical practice economic data and data solutions in the industry. MGMA advances the profession of medical practice management with its industry-leading board certification and Fellowship programs through the American College of Medical Practice Executives.

Through its national membership and 50 state affiliates, MGMA represents more than 33,000 medical practice administrators and executives in practices of all sizes, types, structures and specialties. MGMA is headquartered in Englewood, Colo., with a Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C.