Why Generic Healthcare Benchmarks Can Mislead

The MGMA Problem

Broad benchmarking reports can cover thousands of practices across many specialties.

You open it and find that the comparison group is too broad to answer your question.

The report says median revenue per provider is $400k. But you’re a gastroenterology practice with procedures, yours is $600k. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

It says median no-show rate is 6%. But you’re an orthopedic practice with a 2-week wait list, so yours is 12%. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

It says median staff-to-provider ratio is 3.5. But you’re primary care with high admin overhead, yours is 4.2. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

The comparison may be directionally useful, but it should not be treated as a verdict on performance.

A More Useful Monthly Review

Start with a specialty-specific comparison, then account for practice size, ownership, service mix, and market where the data allows. AileronMD states when a benchmark is unavailable, dated, or not directly comparable.

A benchmark becomes useful when the comparison is close enough to inform a real operating question.