Profit, administrative pressures drive physician practices to sell, though more plan to go it alone, survey finds
The report found declining reimbursement was the top challenge for practice owners.
A new report shows more physicians that own medical practices are deciding not to sell their businesses, though many of them still say the rising administrative burden in running a practice is forcing them to put their shops on the market.
According to the CareCloud Practice Profitability Index, about 59 percent of owners surveyed said they were not planning to sell or merge, an uptick compared to the 54 percent who said the same thing last year.
On the other hand, 25 percent of practice owners surveyed said they are planning to sell or merge, citing a surge in administrative work as their top concern.
The increased optimism despite more physician practice owners telling CareCloud that they expect profitability to decline. The survey found 31 percent said they expect downward pressure on profitability compared to 24 percent who said they expect their practices to earn more. CareCloud said 34 percent expect profits to stay flat.
"The index shows that physicians continue to grapple with declining reimbursement, rising costs, and regulatory changes. However, they're actively investing in new ways to shore up practice operations and boost profitability, with technology playing a key role," the report said.
The report found declining reimbursement was the top challenge for physician practices, followed by rising costs and the changeover to ICD-10 coding as second and third. However, many said that improvements in billing and collections, as well as technological upgrades, are driving bottom-line improvement.
On the technology front, 20 percent of those surveyed said they plan to replace their practice management or electronic health records software, citing poor integration and hard-to-use interfaces as main challenges.
"Whether it's reevaluating operational processes, upgrading technologies, or exploring new ways to engage with patients, the PPI shows that physicians are not sitting idly by as industry pressures persist," said Ken Comee, CEO of CareCloud, in a statement. "They're strengthening the foundations of their practices, so they can stay focused on what they set out to do--care for patients."
CareCloud, a revenue cycle company, said it partnered with online physician community QuantiaMD to conduct the survey of more than 5,000 physicians.
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