There are many factors that can chip away from a Physician's bottom line. While some of these issues are unavoidable, others may be addressed to help boost potential income.
Decreased Reimbursement1 Nearly a quarter of Physicians surveyed in The MedicusFirm's 2019 Physician Practice Preference & Relocation Survey reported feeling like decreasing reimbursements were negatively affecting their bottom line.
Working Fewer Hours1 14% of Physicians report that they are choosing to work fewer hours. This reduction in hours limits overall Physician pay by decreasing patient loads and opportunities for procedure-related income.
Payor Issues1 Today's Physicians must be well versed in business and medicine to survive. There are a multitude of quality, government and insurer mandated metrics that must be addressed in order to ensure complete payment for each patient visit. Physicians who miss required metrics can be penalized financially even though patient care is deemed adequate.
Increasing Overhead1 Increasing expenses associated with renting practice space and daily operational costs have become a real problem for many Physicians, making it a top area for income loss(1).
Competition1 As patient loads decrease, so does income. With the advent of telehealth and increasing Multi-Physician practices, direct competition is higher than ever in many markets.
Administrative Work3 Over the last 20 years, the amount of administrative work a Physician must complete in a day has increased considerably. An average Physician spends 8.7 hours a week on administrative work that is frequently burdensome and financially nonproductive(2). According to the Medical Economics 90th Annual Physician Report, 70% of Physicians reported that uncompensated admin work has negatively impacted their income, with prior authorizations being a top-cited factor.
Technology Expenses3 Remember when all you needed to see a patient was a paper chart? Today's Physicians need costly, top-level technology to practice. Whether it be a new EMR system, website design, or computer training/troubleshooting, technology-related expenses can really add up for a practice.
Unpaid Patient Bills3 Unpaid medical expenses are the leading cause of bankruptcy for many Americans. When patients are unable to pay for their care this means significant lost revenue for Physicians.