MGMA Report Reveals Extent of COVID-19 Impacts to Financial Health of Physician and Hospital-Owned Medical Practices

Newly Released MGMA Data from over 4,000 Organizations Provides Insights on the Pandemic Impact on the U.S. Healthcare Industry and the Navigation of Recovery

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Medical Group Management Association

Jul 28, 2021, 14:02 ET

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) published a new data report illustrating significant differences in how physician-owned medical practices and hospital-owned medical practices weathered the pandemic and are navigating the economic recovery. The report, "Medical Practice Ownership and COVID-19: A Tale of Two Recoveries," is based on the "2021 MGMA Cost and Revenue" survey report, which analyzes data collected from more than 4,000 organizations reflecting a variety of specialties and practice types in the United States.

This data report reveals key trends, paired with expert insights from industry leaders and MGMA member feedback, to evaluate the history of healthcare's 2020 pandemic response and guide practice leaders as they strategize for the post-pandemic future in 2022 and beyond. Healthcare organizations of all types shared many of the common concerns and challenges during the pandemic: concern for patient and staff safety, operational challenges created by social distancing, financial concerns related to shutdowns and higher costs, and increased rates of stress and burnout for healthcare professionals. However, despite those shared circumstances, the recovery has not been identical for all organizations.

"Physician-owned medical practices had bigger cost and revenue swings than their hospital counterparts largely driven by how they approached patient access, physician productivity, and operating costs," said, Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACMPE, president and chief executive officer of MGMA. "The findings in this report highlight the need for medical practice leaders to revisit their strategic planning as they continue pandemic recovery and set guiding principles for the future of practice management in 2022."

Key insights in the "2021 MGMA Cost and Revenue" survey report include:

All practice types reported pronounced decreases in productivity levels in 2020 versus 2019, though hospital-owned practices fared much worse; hospital-owned entities experienced three times greater declines in productivity compared to physician-owned entities.
Despite their significant decreases in productivity, hospital-owned practices experienced lower decreases in total medical revenue compared to physician-owned practices.
As businesses awaited federal relief programs, physician-owned groups quickly pivoted to telehealth and other innovative care delivery models to continue serving patients when in-person medical office visits were restricted.
Physician-owned practices felt increases in operating costs more acutely as the need for PPE and other COVID-19-related safety measures rose, whereas hospital-owned practices saw cost increases covered in higher-up organizational budgets or via large-scale cost-cutting measures.
The pace of medical practice merger and acquisition (M&A) activity stalled briefly at the beginning of the pandemic but has since accelerated, creating shifts in physician employment and compensation methods.

To read the full findings and the data behind this analysis, download the full report here: Medical Practice Ownership and COVID-19: A Tale of Two Recoveries.

About MGMA
Founded in 1926, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) is the nation's largest association focused on the business of medical practice management. MGMA consists of 15,000 group medical practices ranging from small private medical practices to large national health systems representing more than 350,000 physicians. MGMA helps nearly 60,000 medical practice leaders and the healthcare community solve the business challenges of running practices so that they can focus on providing outstanding patient care. Specifically, MGMA helps its members innovate and improve profitability and financial sustainability, and it provides the gold standard on industry benchmarks such as physician compensation. The association also advocates extensively on its members' behalf on national regulatory and policy issues. To learn more, go to MGMA.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

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SOURCE Medical Group Management Association