Medical group operating costs are still outpacing revenue, according to data from the AMGA 2023 Medical Group Operations and Finance Survey, released Dec. 18.
The survey gathered data from more than 15,000 providers on key performance indicators for benchmarking and strategic planning. Five key findings:
1. Median loss for system-affiliated groups hit $249,000.
2. The gap between revenue and expenses got bigger for system-affiliated medical groups.
3. Median revenue per physician grew 16.7% to $719,901.
4. Median expenses per physician increased 14.7% to $1.03 million.
5. Median total revenue per physician was up 9.1% from pre-pandemic.
6. Median total expenses were up 26.5% from pre-pandemic.
7. Medical groups report 17.1% of total denials are controllable.
8. Telehealth visits leveled off in 2023 from the big increase during the pandemic.
Labor costs, staffing shortages and changes in the CMS fee schedule, as well as other regulatory policy updates, have driven the big trends in medical group performance, according to the report.
"Today's leaders are continually focused on improving operational efficiencies through more virtual visits, patient self-scheduling, care team redesign, the use of AI to automate and drive process improvement, and other strategies," said Mike Coppola, AMGA consulting COO.
Medical group leaders noted the need for more sophisticated tools and benchmarks, both internal and external, to improve revenue cycle performance. Medical groups are evaluating their operational issues and assessing the payer mix and composition.