ReCAP: The National Practice Benchmark for Oncology: 2015 Report for 2014 Data [Business of Oncology]

QUESTION ASKED:

Are there benchmark data that I can use to assess my practice?

CONTEXT AND ANSWER:

The National Practice Benchmark (NPB) provides a unique tool by which oncology practices can measure and analyze their current business practices. The data presented are drawn from practices from across the country and of various sizes and settings. With these metrics, a practice should be able to identify significant variances, analyze current business practices, and make appropriate changes, if necessary.

The data presented do not impute judgment. However, they provide context by which questions can be framed. There are no right or wrong inferences to be made. The data simply encourage practices to measure and to become self-aware. It is anticipated that the process of measurement will drive performance improvement.

METHODS:

More than 1,700 medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and practice administrators representing over 200 community practices and cancer centers across the United States were invited to participate in the NPB. The complete report and data collection includes 42 practices representing 587.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) hematology/oncology (HemOnc) physicians and 755.5 FTE physicians in all specialties.

RESULTS (OR WHAT WE FOUND):

Multiple metrics are presented within the report. Widely accepted as a predictor of financial health of a practice is the number of new patients served by the practice (Fig A4). The definition of new patient is a patient who has not been seen by a clinician in the exact same specialty at the practice in the last 3 years. This year, the number of new patient visits in a 12-month period (calendar year or fiscal year) per standard HemOnc physician was 358 as compared with 325 last year. The metrics surrounding the finances of providing anticancer drugs are always of interest. The adjusted average drug spend (cost of goods paid for) per FTE HemOnc this year is $3,600,000 and continues to rise compared with last year's adjusted average of $3,100,000.

BIAS, CONFOUNDING FACTOR(S), DRAWBACKS:

In the event that data were missing, nonsensical, or illogical, the practice data were excluded from the data used to generate the NPB results. All successful submissions are included in the demographic data. Data were submitted by HemOnc single-specialty practices, as well as by multispecialty practices, hospital-based practices, and other institutions.

REAL-LIFE IMPLICATIONS:

Do you feel like you are working harder while your expenses are increasing and reimbursement is decreasing? As you read the results of this year's NPB report, we hope you consider using these metrics and data to answer that question for your practice: to measure what matters.

FIG A4.

Number of new hematology/oncology (HemOnc) patients in the 12-month period per full-time equivalent (FTE) HemOnc physician (new office patients: practices, n = 36; FTE HemOnc physicians, n = 573.4; new hospital patients: practices, n = 34; FTE HemOnc physicians, n = 569.6).

from Cancer via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1S5hCT1
via IFTTT