MGMA Survey Finds Medical Practice Revenues Fell

A new study from the Medical Group Management Association found that total medical revenue for multi-specialty group practices dropped 1.9 percent in 2008, the first decrease in several years, according to an MGMA news release.

The study, Cost Survey: 2009 Reports Based on 2008 Data, measured data for both single- and multi-specialty groups but uses multi-specialty group information as a proxy for overall trends.

Contributing to the decline in revenue are factors such as bad debt, declining patient volumes and rising operating costs, according to the release.

The study found that the number of procedures dropped 9.9 percent and the number of patients dropped 11.3 percent from 2006 to 2008. Bad debt for fee-for-service bills in multi-specialty practices also rose 13 percent in that time period.

MGMA data showed that operating costs increased 54 percent over the past 10 years, with increasing drug supply costs, support staff costs and professional liability fees as a few of the variables contributing to this trend.

The study found that in 2008, multi-specialty practices decreased overhead expenses by 1.4 percent, largely by cutting support staff costs.

Read the release about the decline in multi-specialty medical practice revenues.