Understanding medical group financial and operational performance: the synergistic effect of linking statistical...

There is ongoing pressure for medical groups owned by not-for-profit health care systems or for-profit entrepreneurs to generate profit. The fading promise of superior strategy through health care integration has boards of directors clamoring for bottom-line performance. While prudent, sole focus on the bottom line through the lens of the profit-and-loss (P&L) statement provides incomplete information upon which to base executive decisions. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that placing statistical process control (SPC) charts in tandem with the P&L statement provides a more complete picture of medical group performance thereby optimizing decision making as executives deal with the whitewater issues surrounding physician practice ownership.