The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / How Non-Physician Providers Can Help Your Practice

How Non-Physician Providers Can Help Your Practice

November 17, 2017 • By Richard Quinn

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

Non-surgical specialties, including rheumatology, are more profitable when they use a non-physician provider (NPP) and other support personnel, according to new data from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

You Might Also Like
  • Incident-To Guidelines for Nonphysician Healthcare Providers
  • Coding Corner Questions: July
  • Practice Page: Is In-house or Outsourced Medical Billing Right for Your Physician Practice?
Also By This Author
  • Tight NIH Budget Makes Research Careers Tough

The finding isn’t necessarily new, because past reviews have reported that the use of NPPs can demonstrably improve a practice’s financial bottom line.1 But the latest data are a reminder for rheumatologists of the day-to-day value they can reap by bringing on key support staff, says MGMA Senior Fellow of Industry Affairs David Gans.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“You can invest in technology, you can invest in physical capital, and you can invest in human capital,” Mr. Gans says. “NPPs are a human capital investment [who] … [can] address a substantial amount of the care responsibilities for a [patient]. And they have much lower compensation levels [than physicians do].”

The data from the 2017 MGMA DataDive Cost and Revenue Survey, which compares ratios of NPPs with full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians, are undeniable.2 For physician-owned practices with a ratio of 0.21–0.40 NPPs to one FTE physician, total medical revenue after operating costs was $548,688. For practices with 0.41 or more NPPs to one FTE physician, total revenue was $751,133. In hospital-owned practices, the trend was similar. For practices with 0.20 or fewer NPPs per physician, total medical revenue after operating costs was $220,147. For hospital-owned groups with 0.21–0.40 NPPs per FTE physician, revenue jumped to $234,444; and for groups with 0.41 or more NPPs per FTE physician, revenue climbed to $338,790.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Beneath the numbers, the basic return on investment is that the more work an NPP can handle for a rheumatologist, the more new patients the rheumatologist can see. More patients, of course, means more revenue.

“This [increase] is true whether you’re a physician-owned practice or part of a hospital system,” Mr. Gans says.

If the trend is economically obvious, why aren’t more groups using NPPs? Or more NPPs?

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Practice Limitations
One constraint for practices is physical space. A solo practitioner doesn’t add a provider so that the two of them can split one exam room. Bringing on more staff means adding space, and more space means greater expense for the practice.

Often, “private-practice doctors are so concerned about practice overhead they constrain the physical facility,” Mr. Gans says. “In private practice, the doors are thinner, the rugs are thinner, and the exam rooms are smaller. I’ve had excellent care in both [private and public] facilities because of the quality of providers, but you can see the difference in facilities.”

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Practice Management, Workforce Tagged With: Medical Group Management Association, non-physician provider, Practice Management, rheumatology, staff, staffing

You Might Also Like:
  • Incident-To Guidelines for Nonphysician Healthcare Providers
  • Coding Corner Questions: July
  • Practice Page: Is In-house or Outsourced Medical Billing Right for Your Physician Practice?
  • Revenue Cycle Management in Physician Practice Improves with Staff Communication, Training

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)