Physician productivity increased in the first quarter of 2026, but so did the cost of sustaining it.
Strata’s “Monthly Healthcare Industry Financial Benchmarks” report, drawn from data across more than 135,000 physicians, found that overall work relative value units climbed while support staffing declined, meaning physicians are doing more with less, and health systems are paying more.
Five statistics from the report:
1. Median wRVUs per physician FTE rose 3.5% from the fourth quarter to 6,602.
2. Regional performance was mixed: the South led with a 5.1% wRVU increase, while the West dropped 4.1%. All other regions posted slight year-over-year gains.
3. Support staffing tightened across most of the country. Median support staff per 10,000 wRVUs fell 1.5% from the prior quarter to 3.4.
4. The staffing decline was sharpest in the South, down 11.1%, followed by the Midwest at 5.5% and the Northeast at 2%. The West was the only region where staffing increased, up 5.5%, the inverse of its wRVU performance.
5. Direct expenses rose nearly 8% year over year to $1,259,692. “Higher expenses continued to drive up the level of investment required to support practice operations,” the report notes.
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