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ONE OF THE key drivers of medical practice profitability and financial success is physician productivity. Productivity can be impacted by many factors related to the physician, including training, specialty, schedule, allocation of time to specific service types and locations, and the ability to leverage time with the resources provided by the practice. Productivity is also a"ected by ensuring the appropriate number of sta" for each physician, examining workflow e¬ciencies and patient flow throughout the practice, and using technology e¬ciently. MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY Many practices use Relative Value Units (RVUs) to measure physician productivity, which is a nonmonetary standard unit of measure that indicates the value of services provided and is associated with each CPT code. Other practices use total charges or collections. Regardless of the method used, practices should measure productivity by provider and report results to their physicians on a regular basis. A periodic review of productivity and related unit volumes by service category and location, taking into account the average time spent for each over a specified period of time, helps identify opportunities to evaluate the allocation of physician resources to maximize productivity. KPIs (KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS) A key performance indicator is a measurable value that dem- onstrates how e"ectively a practice is achieving key business objectives and helps evaluate success in meeting certain targets. Practice management and physicians should establish which KPIs are important to their business. KPIs could be established for productivity, volumes, appointments, accounts receivable statistics or other financial success factors. Also, the ability to separate them by provider, service type and location allows for further analysis. While physician productivity drives profit- ability, ultimate collection on patient and insurance receivables translates into profit. Some KPIs and related reports to consider are shown here. How to Monitor and Evaluate to Drive Practice Profitability BY FRED LUECKE, CPA, CMPE PRODUCTIVIT Y AND VOLUMES ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE APPOINTMENTS Total RVUs and RVU per visit Total AR New patient appointments Charges and charge per visit Days in AR Follow-up appointments Receipts and payment per visit Net Collection % Procedures/Surgeries New patient visits (o¬ce & hospital) Bad debt % Cancellations Total patient visits (o¬ce & hospital) Denial rate/type No Shows Procedures/Surgeries Daily deposits Next available (1st, 2nd, 3rd) Ancillary revenues and volumes AR % by payer Setting individual provider productivity goals and measuring them related to KPIs can help physicians and administrators identify areas to focus their e"orts for improvement. When setting productivity goals consider establishing targets in small increments, like daily or weekly, that translate into monthly and annual goals to help sta" and providers understand the short-term daily tasks needed to accomplish long-term results. Industry benchmarks are available for many of the KPIs from Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and other healthcare organizations. LEVERAGING TIME AND RESOURCES The e¬cient use of technology by implementing properly designed templates, order sets, favorites and other tools within the EMR system can streamline both documentation time and care plans. Evaluation of patient flows through every step of the practice can identify opportunities for sta" and technolog y to assist physicians in focusing on patient care rather than administrative duties or unnecessary delays. Other opportunities to leverage time include the use of advanced practice nurses and establishing ancillary service profit centers within the practice, where practical. Fred Luecke is the Practice Leader of Healthcare and Accounting Services at CBIZ, MHM, LLC and Mayer Homan McCann PC, an independent CPA firm in Northeast Ohio. ■ Managing Physician Productivity M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C L E V E L A N D /A K R O N / C A N T O N ■ M AY/J U N E 2 017 2 3