MGMA: Healthcare Facility Operations Spending Grows By 12%
By Sara Heath
As the needs of healthcare facilities continue to increase, practices are spending more money on enhanced technology and nonphysician providers (NPPs), according to a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) press release.
In the Cost and Revenue Survey: 2015 Report Based on 2014 Data, MGMA found a 12 percent increase in spending on total operating costs per full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians from the 2010 measures. MGMA states that most of this increase can potentially be credited to practices meeting the new and diverse needs of patients and their physicians.
According to the study, these changing needs, as well as the need for upgraded healthcare systems, cause practices are adding more technology to their workflows. The study finds an approximate 12 percent increase in operational costs for technology over the past year. Additionally, the amount of money spent on technology has reportedly increased by nearly 33 percent since 2010.
MGMA officials explain that there are two reasons for this increased technology spending: the evolution of technology and the changing needs and preferences of patients.
“As technology continues to evolve, medical practices must likewise also evolve,” said MGMA’s CEO, Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP. “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 compliance requirements.”
- The study also found that practices are increasing their employment of nonphysician providers (NNPs), such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants. According to MGMA, the employment of NNPs in physician-owned surgical settings has increased by 44 percent since 2010.
MGMA poses a potential explanation for this increase. Because there has been an influx of patients due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), practices have had to make up for provider shortages by employing more NNPs. Furthermore, MGMA officials state that employing NNPs allows physicians to focus more on the acute care of patients.
“[NNPs] 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,” says Michael Brohawn, Practice Administrator at Orthopaedics East & Sports Medicine Center and MGMA member.
As reported by EHRIntelligence.com, a study also published by MGMA last year finds that employing NNPs can help increase patient satisfaction by meeting multiple patient needs. By increasing patient access to care, NNPs can be a potential asset to practices. The key to employing these professionals, MGMA states, is reviewing the services NNPs are able to provide so that it is clear what kind of effect NNPs will potentially have on a practice looking to employ them.
As healthcare practices continue to spend money on resources such as technology and NNPs, perhaps practices will be able to develop best-practice strategies to cater more effectively and efficiently to patient needs and increase quality of care.
