What is MGMA? All You Need to Know About the Salary Data Provider

Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) represents over 15,000 group medical practices that range from smaller, private practices to some of the largest in the country with over 350,000 physicians. MGMA salary data is valuable and considered highly accurate because of the range of information available to the organization. Here is a look at what this organization does and why it may matter to you.

What Is MGMA and MGMA Salary Data?

MGMA plays a significant role in creating success within the healthcare industry. The organization does this in multiple ways. First, for MGMA members, it aids in enhancing professional goals and ambitions for physicians. Secondly, for others, it provides outstanding resources that can help drive change and results within the healthcare industry.

The organization provides for both mentor-to-peer and peer-to-peer support systems. This allows physicians to work to support each other in various ways. It also provides numerous digital resources in the area of healthcare advancement. The data and resources available to members includes everything from educational collateral and certifications to networking events and access to MGMA salary data.

History of MGMA

MGMA began in 1926 when a group of people came together to make a difference in the industry. The organization, which is the oldest and one of the most respected membership organizations representing group practice administration, has had the same mission since the start. That was to conduct confidential surveys of financial information and then publish that information the following year. The company, which was founded in Madison, Wisconsin, represented 21 clinics at its first conference in Minneapolis the next year.

The survey provided insight into financial data, including clinic organization and processes. It also discussed accounting methods and collection percentages. Many of these metrics remain present in the company’s current Cost Survey Report.

MGMA was founded to meet a need, a way for medical group administrators to have valuable information. Over the coming years, they added new surveys to further enhance the knowledge present in the industry.

Where Does MGMA Get Their Salary Data?

MGMA provides valuable data to industry professionals and its members. That data includes thousands of metrics about a wide range of aspects in the field of healthcare, including MGMA salary data. The data itself comes from various sources, and while MGMA does not share all of that information, they state it comes from data analysis, reports, and surveys conducted throughout the industry, including through its members.

Types of Data

MGMA offers a wide range of data reports aimed at providing small- and medium-sized practices with information on where they stand. Some of the salary data that the organization provides is through the MGMA DataDrive tool, which provides an online location for data to be collected, analyzed, and managed. Some of the data focus points for the company include:

• Provider compensation: This focuses on compensation packages for medical providers, including data that represents thousands of providers, providing insight into various KPIs on areas as far reaching as productivity, collections, encounters, and more.
• Management and staffing reports: This data focuses on turnover, one of the most concerning areas for many locations. It includes data on engagement across various datasets representing professionals.
• Cost and revenue reports: This data insight focuses on the financials of operations, including more elaborate data, including optimized operating expenses, healthy A/R, and balanced staff ratios.
• Practice operations: This dataset is a helpful benchmark of metrics that show patient and employee related data. It includes KPIs including wait times, hours of operation, call volume, and appointment availability. The focus here is on reducing employee turnover while increasing patient retention.
• Procedural profiles: In this data set, MGMA presents the data as a tool for viewing CPT code profiles for various specialties, including providing insight into the lowest and highest-producing incomes.

Surveys Available

MGMA surveys are intelligent medical group analytics tools. Therefore they are designed to provide members with a way to review data and analyze how well their physician practice is performing. This allows for organizations to better understand how well they are doing while also looking at how they may make changes in the future. This enables organizations to make informed decisions based on industry standards.

In order to facilitate this, MGMA conducted a number of surveys, each with varied types of information. The four key surveys used include:

• Practice operations
• Cost and revenue
• Provider compensation
• Management and staff compensation

In addition to this, the organization also provides insights on operations management, human resource topics, revenue cycles, and value-based care models. It also offers insights into financial management as well as risk and compliance, all areas that are critical to many organizations.

Related: Physician’s Guide to Salary Negotiation

Last Published Date

MGMA works to publish salary data results each year. The release date for each survey and report differs from one sector to the next. MGMA released the 2022 report for their Compensation & Production Survey in May 2022. Their other surveys will roll out over the next few weeks/months. In general, MGMA always releases their salary data in the summer each year.

Sample Size

MGMA uses its members to help with the creation of surveys. That means that it has the ability to pull data from thousands of people to make a wide comparison of data. Each survey will be different based on the number of people that participate. However, the last survey by the company had over 150,000 respondents, providing a solid framework for the data included.

Methodology

There is no doubt that in order to use this MGMA salary data for various goals and needs, a physician needs to know the data was collected in a responsible way and fits the overall expectations of those using it. To participate in the surveys, the organization places specific requirements on members.

Eligible practice types include:

• Private practices
• Hospitals
• Integrated delivery systems
• Recruiters
• Academic departments
• Universities
• Management services organizations
• Physician practice management companies
• Government organizations

These surveys do not include freestanding ambulatory surgery center professionals. In addition, if a medical practice merges or is acquired by another organization, and they cannot assemble 12 months of practice data, they are unable to participate in the survey.

Providers are those employed by the practice during the fiscal year of the survey. This may include new hires that are brought in during that year. Providers that left within the fiscal year are also able to complete surveys. Locum tenens and contracted providers are eligible to submit in some areas, including compensation and production surveys.

In terms of managers and staff, those that are employed by the practice during the most recent fiscal year can complete the surveys. Managers and staff that left during the fiscal year are also able to submit the survey but must provide employment status to do so.

How Could a Physician Participate in the Survey?

Those who wish to participate in the survey will need to work through several steps. That includes creating an MGMA practice profile that is complete and meets the organization’s goals. It is then possible to visit the survey landing page. With an account that is of no cost to the provider, it takes a few minutes to get started.

From this page, it is possible to complete all provider, managers, and staff surveys depending on your qualifications (what work you do). This includes the compensation and production survey, cost and revenue survey, practice operations survey, and others.

Related: The Definitive Guide to wRVU Physician Compensation

How MGMA Compares to Others

MGMA, along with AMGA and Sullivan Cotter, are considered leading survey providers. These organizations are the most notable in the industry because they have highly refined and careful practices but also because they have been collecting this data for decades. That allows them to have better data to meet the needs of users. Additionally, other providers include Merritt Hawkins and Medscape.

Here is a look at a few key data points regarding these three organizations.

• Total cash compensation for full time equivalent: This is typically the most compelling data from organizational management and providers. Sullivan Cotter distinguishes and does not include cash compensation paid for call coverage and extra work of a provider, such as the work they do moonlighting. AMGA and MGMA methods include these pay components.
• Work relative value units (wRVUs) per full time equivalent: Each of the three providers publishes data on this metric in a consistent manner.
• Compensation per work relative value units rate: This is a commonly misunderstood and applied metric in many surveys.
• Physician medical director services: Both Sullivan Cotter and MGMA provide data in this area.
• Who receives the data: Sullivan Cotter’s data is much the same as that of MGMA. One key difference is that MGMA tailors the data provided to smaller organizations. In short, they sell the report to smaller clinics, generally, those that have six or fewer providers. In some situations, they sell it to individuals

Read about more Compensation Providers:
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How to Access MGMA Salary Data

To access MGMA salary data, organizations need to become members. There are several MGMA membership types available. Those who contribute to the survey receive single-user access to the dataset that they submitted through the MGMA DataDive.

Individuals who purchase a membership will pay $399 per year or 2 years for $699. Auto renew services are available. Lower costs are available to individuals who are students or faculty. Data Dive is the tool used to access MGMA surveys and is not included as part of a membership – it must be purchased separately.

Here at Physicians Thrive, MGMA data is included in all of our contract review packages, including compensation reviews. Contact us to get started on a review of your contract or compensation.

How Would a Physician Use MGMA Salary Data?

The data from MGMA surveys can be very valuable to physicians. For example, it may allow for the comparison of the information available across other providers. You can use the data from these surveys in various ways within your professional career such as negotiating your contract.

If you have these numbers on hand when you sit down to negotiate benefits or your future with an organization, they can provide a valuable tool for you to show what you are worth and allow you to leverage facts to increase your earnings. It can also help to know what other physicians are being paid if you decide to make a move to another practice or location.

This data can also help you to understand the market from one area to the next, allowing you to have some idea of what to expect if you plan to relocate at some point in the future.

Related: How Moving Can Help Physicians Pay Off Student Loans

You may also want to use this data as a way to get better representation within your practice. Use it to help you plan your career and future goals.

Physicians Thrive provides access to every data point within MGMA’s survey, and every physician who reviews and negotiates their employment contract with Physicians Thrive will gain access to that data for your specialty. Learn more about your options in accessing MGMA salary data.

Take some time now to request the 2022 Physician Thrive’s Compensation report. We also encourage you to get a quote for life insurance or use our complete guide to life insurance to make decisions about your financial future. Finally, we always encourage physicians to consider the importance of disability insurance as a way to protect your salary.