Benchmarking FAQs

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Don't see an answer to your question? Please email your question to data@aaoe.net for further information.

I do not have access to all of the data requested in the survey. Can I still participate?

Yes, you can provide as much data as you have access to and are able to provide. 

I completed a benchmarking survey for the OrthoForum or OrthoConnect. Can I submit that data to you instead of completing a separate survey?

Yes, you can either email your completed benchmarking survey to data@aaoe.net or upload your survey into AAOE’s secure portal. Please contact data@aaoe.net for upload instructions. Upon receipt of your survey, AAOE will input your data into the AAOE Benchmarking Survey and you will receive free access to the Benchmarking Results when they are published.

The OrthoForum used to transfer benchmarking surveys directly to AAOE. Is that no longer the case?

No, the OrthoForum does not transfer benchmarking surveys directly to AAOE. OrthoForum and OrthoConnect practices can submit their surveys to AAOE, however. You can either email your completed benchmarking survey to data@aaoe.net or upload your survey into AAOE’s secure portal. Please contact data@aaoe.net for upload instructions. Upon receipt of your survey, AAOE will input your data into the AAOE Benchmarking Survey and you will receive free access to the Benchmarking Results when they are published.

Can I submit separate benchmarking surveys for individual divisions or practices that make up my organization?

Yes, you can choose to submit benchmarking surveys for each division or practice within your organization. Please contact data@aaoe.net and ask for a separate benchmarking survey link for each of your divisions/practices. When the Benchmarking Results are published, you will be provided with login information specific to each division/practice so that you can view Results at that level.

I am interested in participating in the AAOE Benchmarking Survey, but we have concerns about sharing all that information. Can you confirm that the data we submit will be protected and held in the strictest confidence?

Yes, when you submit your benchmarking survey to AAOE, your data is protected. Specifically, your data is mapped into the AAOE Benchmarking Survey and stored in a secure database; access to the online Benchmarking Results is password protected and permission driven; only you can see your practice’s data. Comparison benchmarks are presented in aggregate; and results are hidden when fewer than five practices meet established criteria.

What should I do if my practice does not track Work RVU data?

You can skip questions related to physician and provider Work RVUs if the data is not available to you or if it is not a metric tracked by your practice. 

What is the difference between Annual Practice Compensation and Total Practice Compensation?

Annual Practice Compensation is the salary and wages paid to a physician or provider directly by the practice. Total Practice Compensation includes Annual Practice Compensation and earnings received from other sources, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and real estate. 

Why is the physician NPI number requested?

The NPI number is used as an identifier that allows tracking for individual providers across years. Other unique identifiers can be used, such as initials, if a practice chooses not to provide an NPI number. 

Do I make any adjustments to the Work RVUs reported for providers?

No, all Work RVUs should reported with the GPCI set to 1.000 so that all data is reported consistently across providers and practices. 

I have a provider that only worked for 6 months during the year, how do I report their data?

Please enter 0.5 as the full-time equivalent (FTE) value in the FTE field and then the total gross and net collections, visits, surgeries, Work RVUs, etc. performed during the period. The values will be adjusted based on the FTE values when the benchmarking results are generated. 

For Net Collections, do you want net collections for the current data year, which would include dates of service in previous years, or do you want net collections for those services rendered in the current data year?

Either option is appropriate as long as you base all gross and net collection reporting on either service date or post date consistently across all data elements requesting collections data.

What is the difference between a practice administrator and CEO?

For the purposes of the Benchmarking Survey, there is no difference between these two titles. Both titles refer to the staff person who reports directly to the practice’s board. 

The Employees sections of the survey seem redundant. Can you help clarify why some positions, like athletic trainers seem to appear multiple times?

The Employees section is divided in the following categories: Revenue Generating Staff, Clinical Support Staff, Patient Care Support Staff, Business Operations Staff, and Taxes and Benefits. Within the Revenue Generating Staff, Clinical Support Staff, and Patient Care Support Staff categories, data entry is further divided to collect relevant data for each line of service. 

As a result of this structure, employees roles may appear in multiple sections based on whether they employee is able to bill for their services and/or the line of service to which the employee contributes their time. The item level definitions provided in the survey are intended to clarify the employee data being collected within each section and for each employee role.

How do I allocate employee time and wages across lines of service?

Employee FTE and wages may already be allocated across lines of service (e.g., X-Ray, PT/OT, MRI) in your practice’s chart of accounts. If so, please enter data according to that allocation. For practices who have not created this allocation in their chart of accounts, FTE allocations can be made based on the percentage of time employees work in each of the service areas. For example, an employee who works half of their time in orthopedics, 30% in X-Ray, and 20% in DME would have FTE values of 0.5, 0.3, and 0.2 entered in the respective lines of service. The wages paid to these employees would be adjusted accordingly so that the total wages across lines of service equals their salary. 

Do I include physicians, nurse practitioners, and/or physician assistants in the Staff Taxes and Benefits Item?

Include physician assistants and nurse practitioners in these two items, but do not include physicians. Taxes and benefits paid for physicians are reported in the Income Statement - Physician Expenses section. 

I am unable to allocate all non-staff expense items across lines of service. How should I handle this?

If a non-staff expense item cannot be allocated, enter all of the expenses under Orthopedics.  

Where should I enter loans or other one-time revenue payments received by the practice?

Report as Other Revenue in the Income Statement – Revenue section. 

I entered physician compensation in the Physician Productivity and Compensation section of the survey. Why am I also asked to enter physician compensation and bonuses in the Income Statement – Physician Expenses section?

To provide a full accounting of physician expenses as reflected in the practice’s income statement, the compensation and benefits data reported in the Income Statement – Physician Expenses, collects additional detail on physician expenses and prevents that detail from being requested at the individual level. Specifically, the Income Statement – Physician Expenses section collects data on employment taxes, health related benefits, retirement plan contributions, and other direct expenses in a addition to compensation and bonuses.

When completing the Income Statement – Physician Expenses section, you can note the total compensation and bonus amounts reported in the Physician Productivity and Compensation section and enter that total into to the Physician Compensation and Bonuses field to minimize the amount of additional work.

Accounts receivable (AR) timing fluctuates throughout the year. If I am working on the survey in May, what data should I report?

If you have access to an AR report that was generated on or after December 31 of the reporting year, you can use the numbers included in that report. Otherwise, enter the most recent AR aging data you have. To prepare for participation in the Benchmarking Survey in future years, set a calendar reminder to pull AR data at the end of the current year, or as soon as possible afterwards. 

My practice does not track patient and insurance balances separately. How should I report my AR balances?

Report the entire AR balance as Insurance Balance and enter ‘0’ for Patient Balance for the current year.  

For X-Ray, do I report the number of studies or the number of images?

Report the number of studies, not individual scans.

The Square Footage section does not include options for X-Ray or DME space. Why is that?

Square footage specific to these items were removed from the survey to help streamline the Benchmarking Survey. This decision was based on: 1) the space dedicated to X-Ray and DME storage is a small percentage of the overall space used by a practice and 2) decisions to expand office space or add locations are typically not based on the space used for these services. 

Our practice did not add any new physicians during the reporting period, do I need to enter anything in this section? 

No, you can skip the Physician Recruitment section as it does not apply to you.  

The payment unit used by the hospital for call payments is not included in the options provided. How should I report my data?

Please convert the payments to one of the units provided, most likely Per Day or Per Hour. Given the number of different shift definitions and payment units, it is difficult to include all possible unit options.