The American Medical Association (AMA) is leading the Physician Practice Information (PPI) Survey in 2023-2024 with the primary purpose to collect representative data on practice expense and hours spent in direct patient care. This important effort aims to collect accurate data on the costs and challenges of modern physician practices and to share that information with policymakers and payers, so they can in turn make more informed decisions when it comes to policy and reimbursement issues.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), along with more than 170 other groups, supports this initiative and encourages DCs who are contacted in the coming months to complete the survey. Beginning in January or February 2024, a random sample of chiropractic practices and individual chiropractors will be invited to participate in the same national study, now referred to as the Clinician Practice Information (CPI) Survey. These doctors will be notified by mail, email and phone.
Below, ACA members Kris Anderson, DC, MS and Leo Bronston, DC, MAppSC, who participate on the AMA’s RVS Update Committee, which advises CMS on how to value a physician’s work, answer frequently asked questions about the CPI survey:
Who is doing the survey?
The American Medical Association is spearheading the PPI survey in partnership with Mathematica, an independent research company with extensive experience in survey methods as well as healthcare delivery and finance reform. More than 170 healthcare societies have signed on in support of the project.
ACA is funding the Clinician Practice Information (CPI) Survey on behalf of the chiropractic profession, which mirrors the Physician Practice Information (PPI) Survey, alongside nine other non-MD/DO healthcare organizations including the American Academy of Audiology, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Occupational Therapy Association, American Optometric Association, American Physical Therapy Association, American Psychological Association, American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and National Association of Social Workers.
What is the goal of the PPI/CPI survey?
The objective of the PPI/CPI survey is to help document changes in the U.S. healthcare delivery system that impact your practice every day. One of the recurring comments that organizers hear from physicians is that decision-makers and payers are not fully informed about the broad clinical, operational, and financial challenges that their practices face. The study represents an opportunity to communicate accurate financial and operational information to policymakers, including Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Physician Practice Information data currently used to determine payment levels was last collected by CMS in 2006, making it critical to perform this study at this time.
When will the survey invitations be sent out?
The PPI survey has already been distributed via an email invitation to MD and DO practices in 2023. Chiropractors will start to receive invitations to participate in the Clinician Practice Information Survey starting in January 2024 and extending through June 2024.
Who will be sampled?
333 chiropractic practices will be randomly selected in the sample using Medicare claims data. Mathematica will contact these practices by mail, email and phone and encourage them to participate in the Clinician Practice Information Survey beginning in January/February 2024. At least 100 responses to the survey are required to ensure the validity and quality of the data collected, and to accurately reflect the current cost of running a chiropractic practice.
How will the data be collected?
The survey tool is in an online format. Practices and providers will receive an email from Mathematica, co-signed by ACA’s president, with a link and unique username and password that invites them to participate.
Invitations and reminders about the costs survey will be sent by Mathematica. Regardless of ACA membership status, all chiropractors who bill for Medicare services are eligible to receive these surveys, so please help us by spreading the word to your colleagues.
Exactly what data will be collected?
The PPI/CPI survey will collect the data needed to calculate practice expenses per hour of patient care by physician specialty for up to 46 Medicare specialties. The practice survey will provide the components of physician expense (numerator); the physician survey will provide the physician patient care hours (denominator).
What will the data collected be used for?
Data from the survey will be used to help determine physician payment levels. The chiropractic profession is presented with an important opportunity and your participation in this study will ensure that the voice and priorities of your practice are clearly heard. Physician Practice Information data currently used to determine payment levels was last collected by CMS in 2006, making it critical to perform this study at this time.
The data collected through this survey will be kept private, reported in aggregate, and used only for the purpose of informing the national estimates of practice expense per patient care hour.
Do I need to make any special arrangements in order to participate?
Starting in January, your practice managers and leaders should monitor their email for important surveys on practice costs and work hours. It is important that practices that are randomly selected to complete a survey do so thoroughly and accurately. For some surveys, doctors will need to rely on financial experts (CPA, bookkeeper and/or office manager) in their practice to complete online financial information. Providers will be asked to report hours spent actively providing patient care.
The input from physician group practices that are randomly selected to participate in this study is critical for its success. Participation will ensure that practice expenses and patient care hours are accurately reflected. At least 100 responses to the survey are required to ensure the validity and quality of the data collected, and to fairly reflect the current cost of running a chiropractic practice.
Where applicable, please allow the necessary time to complete the practice survey, which may take up to an estimated 45 minutes.
When will we know the results of the survey?
Analysis of survey results and reporting will take place between August and December 2024. To thank those who respond to the survey for their participation, Mathematica will send a summary report that compares your own data with national averages.
The data collected through this survey will be kept private, reported in aggregate, and used only for the purpose of informing the national estimates of practice expense per patient care hour.
What if my practice is contacted and I have questions about the survey?
If you are selected for the survey and have questions regarding your response, contact ACA’s Education and Health Policy Team at [email protected].
