Today's Difficult Healthcare
Environment is Creating Profit Problems...
The top concerns among medical group practices in 2009 are as follows according to a study released by the Medical Group Management Association.
MGMA members were invited via e-mail to answer questions in an online survey between Feb. 2 and Feb. 26, and 2,077 responded.
1. Operating costs rising faster than revenue
2. Maintaining physician compensation while reimbursement declines
3. Choosing and implementing an electronic health record
4. Collecting from self-pay patients and those with high-deductible health plans
and HSA's
5. Managing finances in the face of uncertain Medicare rates as the fifth-highest concern
6. Recruiting physicians was the sixth-ranked concern (down from fourth last year)
Respondents were also asked how the recession was affecting their practices:
36.6% say that they had postponed capital expenditures
34.7% are seeing a rise in uninsured patients
34.5% froze hiring
33.9% have cut operating budgets
Click here to read the whole article from the MGMA 2009 survey.
From the experiences of our providers, we personally have heard from Physicians
(and many other Healthcare Business Owners) that their greatest concerns
include:
- Medicare payment reductions and general decreases in reimbursements
- Inefficient practice management and time management challenges
- Keeping up with government regulation
- Capital financing to support new equipment and office growth
- General legal issues, estate planning asset protection and HR issues
- Partner contracts and other contractual relationships
- Unending paperwork
