Expenses per provider remained considerably higher than revenue generated in the first quarter of 2024, although there are signs the gap could be closing, according to the Kaufman Hall "Physician Flash Report," released May 2.
Kaufman Hall based their findings on a monthly report from Syntellis Performance Solutions, part of Strata. The report gathered data from more than 200,000 employed providers, including physicians and advanced practice providers.
Net patient revenue per provider full-time equivalent was $383,881 for the first quarter, up 4% from the same period last year. Total direct expenses per provider FTE hit $620,729 for the quarter. Expense growth has slowed over the last three years, with a 5% growth from 2022 to 2023 and just 3% growth from 2023 to 2024.
"Labor expenses are a growing proportion of total expenses, a trend that is unlikely to change significantly. Organizations should shift from optimizing downstream revenue to optimizing downstream margins," the report authors advised, noting hospitals and physician organizations can evaluate provider specialties by outcomes or other metrics when they aren't big revenue drivers.
Provider productivity was up 4% as measured by work relative value units. Physician wRVU per FTE was 5,979 for the first quarter, up 6% year over year. Physician compensation jumped 3% to $364,319, down from 6% growth between 2022 to 2023.
Labor expenses continue to rise while support staff decline across specialties. Labor was 84% of total expenses in the first quarter, and support staff per 10k provider wRVUs dropped 6% year over year to 3.14, even after an 8% drop from 2022 to 2023. Report authors recommended organizations find better ways to use APPs for higher physician productivity.
Here are specific data points from the first quarter report.
Median net patient revenue per provider FTE by specialty cohort were:
1. Primary care: $471,000
2. Medical specialty: $377,000
3. Surgical specialty: $393,000
4. Hospital-based specialty: $250,000
Median physician wRVU per physician FTE by specialty cohort was:
5. Primary care: 5,560
6. Medical specialty: 6,742
7. Surgical specialty: 6,626
8. Hospital-based specialty: 5,239
Median physician paid compensation per physician FTE by specialty cohort:
9. Primary care: $297,000
10. Medical specialty: $412,000
11. Surgical specialty: $480.000
12. Hospital-based specialty: $360,000
Median support staff FTEs per 10,000 wRFUs by specialty cohort:
13. Primary care: 4.48
14. Medical specialty: 2.47
15. Surgical specialty: 2.87