The 2019 survey results are in on allergy practice cost and revenue data (based on 2018 data). The College’s continued partnership with the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) has once again yielded positive results for our specialty! Those of you who participated in this survey have direct access to the detailed survey results and made it possible for the College to report this important information.
Contrast your practice costs (and revenue)
A total of 25 A/I groups of all sizes reported data to MGMA in the 2019 Cost and Revenue survey (based on 2018 data), compared with 24 in 2018. Note that not all survey participants reported all data for each survey. Small practices (those with three full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians or less) participated in the greatest numbers the past three years, and practices with four to six FTE physicians were the second largest group of participants. Few large practices participated the past three years. While these results should be interpreted cautiously due to their small sample sizes, they do provide a broad picture of economic benchmarks you may find useful in your practice.
Our agreement with MGMA allows us to share a few key data points from the survey – but keep in mind survey participants get free access to more survey results from MGMA, which is a great reason to participate in this survey in 2020!
MGMA Cost & Revenue Survey Participation
Allergy/Immunology Practice Counts by Size and Report Year
| Size of A/I Practice | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonphysician Provider Only | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| <= 3 FTE Physicians | 29 | 16 | 14 |
| 4-6 FTE Physicians | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| 7-10 FTE Physicians | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 11-25 FTE Physicians | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 43 | 24 | 25 |
Source: MGMA DataDive Cost and Revenue. Used with permission from MGMA, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112. 877.275.6462. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2019. Data is protected by MGMA copyright and is prohibited to be shared or re-published without MGMA’s consent.
Twenty-five A/I practices of all sizes reported total medical revenue (fee-for-service collections, Medicare/Medicaid collections, capitation payments and research) in the 2019 survey. A helpful way to look at this data comparatively is as a ratio of medical revenue per FTE physician. The median A/I reported medical revenue per FTE physician in 2018 was $891,432. This compares to $692,692 for the bottom 25% of reporting practices and $1,433,053 for the top 75% of reporting practices. These figures are higher than last year, but some of the difference may be due to the different set of practices reporting data. Another interesting fact: allergy/immunology practices with three or more physicians reported substantially higher median medical revenue per FTE physician than smaller practices.
2019 MGMA Cost & Revenue Survey (based on 2018 data)
Allergy/Immunology groups of all sizes
| Group Count | 25th Percentile | Median | 75th percentile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total medical revenue1 per FTE physician | 25 | $692,692 | $891,432 | $1,433,053 |
Source: 2019 MGMA DataDive Cost and Revenue, based on 2018 data. Used with permission from MGMA, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112. 877.275.6462. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2019. Data is protected by MGMA copyright and is prohibited to be shared or re-published without MGMA’s consent.
Many College members wonder how their practice expenses stack up against other A/I practices. A good measure for this is total operating cost as a percentage of total medical revenue (also known as the overhead ratio). In other words, for every dollar that comes in to the practice, how much goes out in expenses?
Twenty four A/I practices reported this data in the 2019 survey. The median A/I overhead ratio was 64.78%, which is higher than what was reported the past two years. The variation may be due in part to different practices reporting, or possibly to the fact that on average, larger practices participated in this year’s survey. In 2019 participating practices had 4.4 average total physicians and 9.2 average total providers, vs. 3.1 average total physicians in 2018 (there weren’t enough practices with NPs/PAs in 2018 to report this data). Larger practices may have higher operating costs (additional support staff, etc.), which help contribute to higher revenue.
2019 MGMA Cost & Revenue Survey (based on 2018 data)
Allergy/Immunology groups of all sizes
| Group Count | Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Total operating cost1 as % of total medical revenue2 | 24 | 64.78% |
2Total Medical Revenue = FFS Collections + Medicare/Medicaid Collections + Capitation Payments + Research
Source: 2019 MGMA DataDive Cost and Revenue, based on 2018 data. Used with permission from MGMA, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112. 877.275.6462. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2019. Data is protected by MGMA copyright and is prohibited to be shared or re-published without MGMA’s consent.
For comparison purposes, Medscape’s 2019 Allergist Compensation Report reported overhead as a percentage of revenue for self-employed allergists. Solo practices reported overhead of 57% vs. 63% for group practices.
2019 Medscape Allergist/Immunologist Compensation Survey
| Self-employed allergists Overhead as a % of Revenue |
|
|---|---|
| Owner (Solo practice) | 57% |
| Owner (Group practice) | 63% |
For the past two years, we’ve been reporting MGMA data on the level of clinical support staff for allergists, which can directly impact provider productivity. However, this year we wanted to provide a new statistic: business operations support staff per FTE physician. Total business operations support equals administrative staff + accounting staff + IT staff. This would include your practice/office manager and billing staff.
Twenty-one A/I practices reported business operations support staff data in the 2019 survey. The median A/I business operations support staff per FTE physician was 1.11.
2019 MGMA Cost & Revenue Survey (based on 2018 data)
Allergy/Immunology groups of all sizes
| Group Count | Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Total business operations support staff1 per FTE physician2 | 21 | 1.11 |
2FTE physician = Full-time equivalent physician
Source: 2019 MGMA DataDive Cost and Revenue, based on 2018 data. Used with permission from MGMA, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112. 877.275.6462. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2019. Data is protected by MGMA copyright and is prohibited to be shared or re-published without MGMA’s consent.
Comparing your practice’s financial metrics to other allergy practices can be helpful, but it’s perhaps even more important to track them against your own historical performance. We recommend allergy practices regularly report current and historical performance on key revenue cycle, practice profitability and provider performance metrics. Our Practice Profitability toolkit, found in the Practice Management Center on the College’s website, has a list of helpful metrics.
We’re excited to provide this important data for allergy and immunology practices – but we need your help to continue to do so. The College is working with MGMA to make the survey process as easy as possible in 2020, so please plan to participate! Participating practices get free, direct access to the survey results, so you can compare your practice performance to other allergy practices using a variety of performance metrics. All survey data is completely confidential and is never seen by any College member or staff. The Provider Compensation survey will open next year in January, and the Cost & Revenue survey will open in March. Watch your email and College Insider for announcements.
