The study, which was conducted by the Medical Group Management Association, Weil Cornell Medical College, the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago and published in Health Affairs, found that physicians spend three hours per week — or 43 minutes on average per workday — interacting with health insurance plans.
The study found that primary care physicians spend more time on these interactions than medical or surgical specialists. Nursing staff spends nearly four hours per physician per day interacting with plans, and clerical staff spends 7.2 hours per day. Solo practitioners and their staffs spend up to 50 percent more time interacting with health plans than physicians in larger practices. Non-physicians’ staff time did not vary significantly by specialty.
The study classified interactions with health plans as authorization, formulary, claims/billing, credentialing, contracting and quality data. Of those interactions, practices spend the most time dealing with formularies: physicians spend 1.3 hours per week and nursing staff spend 3.6 hours per physician per week. Primary care physicians spend the most time (1.7 hours weekly) on formulary issues. Physicians and their staffs spend the least amount of time on submitting or reviewing quality data.
