Why Generic Healthcare Benchmarks Are Useless

The MGMA Problem

You buy the MGMA benchmarking report for $500–$1,000. It covers thousands of practices across all specialties.

You open it up and… it’s useless.

The report says median revenue per provider is $400k. But you’re a gastroenterology practice with procedures — yours is $600k. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

It says median no-show rate is 6%. But you’re an orthopedic practice with a 2-week wait list, so yours is 12%. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

It says median staff-to-provider ratio is 3.5. But you’re primary care with high admin overhead — yours is 4.2. The benchmark doesn’t account for that.

You’re comparing yourself to a generic average that doesn’t apply to your practice.

What You Actually Need

You need specialty-specific benchmarks — practices in your specialty, with your business model. AileronMD Consult covers six specialties: Primary Care, Gastroenterology, Orthopedics, Hematology/Oncology, Optometry, and Ophthalmology — and every KPI is benchmarked against practices like yours, not the generic average.

Suddenly, the benchmarks actually mean something.