Two assessments. A practice and a group have different failure modes and different math. Pick the one that describes you.
How it works
Three stages, however deep you want to go. Nothing is gated and nothing is saved — you can stop after the first section and still get something useful.
1
Pick your track
Single practice or multi-site group. The questions differ because the economics do.
2
Work the sections
Each scores independently and ends with a read. Move between them freely — nothing has to be done in order.
3
Take the output
Print or save as PDF. Optionally have the benchmark templates emailed to you at the end.
What to have on hand. The readiness section works from memory. For the numbers — revenue cycle, payer mix, productivity, and cash — it helps to have your current A/R aging, a trailing-12-month P&L, your payer contract summary, and provider compensation figures. Estimates are fine; this is directional.
Twenty statements across revenue cycle, payer contracting, profitability, cash, and staffing. Four are hard stops — score low on any of them and your band is capped regardless of total, because they represent risk that outranks optimization.
1 = weak · 3 = functional but limited · 5 = strong and decision-ready
Charges are captured and submitted within 48 hours of the encounter.
Lag here delays every downstream step.
We know our days in A/R and review it at least monthly.
Under 35 days primary care, under 45 specialty.
A/R over 90 days is tracked separately and worked actively.
Healthy practices hold it below 15–18% of total A/R.
We know our first-pass clean claim rate.
Above 92% is the working benchmark.
Denials are categorized by reason and the top three are worked each quarter.
Denial rate under 8%.
Eligibility and benefits are verified before every visit.
Intake errors are the cheapest denials to prevent.
Patient responsibility is collected at time of service.
Post-visit collection probability drops sharply.
We know our net collection rate for contracted payers.
Above 96% for contracted payers.
We know profitability by provider, not just for the practice overall.
Blended margin hides individual economics.
We know profitability by service line or procedure category.
Volume in a low-margin line is not growth.
We have a current contract summary for every payer with rates and terms.
You cannot negotiate what you have not catalogued.
We know each payer's rate as a percentage of Medicare allowable.
105% and 80% of Medicare are different businesses.
Monthly financials close within 15 days and we trust them.
Late books mean decisions on stale data.
We maintain at least 60 days of operating expenses in cash.
90 days is the stronger position.
We run a rolling 13-week cash forecast.
Bank balance is not a forecast.
Provider compensation is tied to a model we can explain and model forward.
Comp is usually the largest single cost.
We track provider productivity on a consistent measure.
wRVUs, encounters, or collections — pick one and hold it.
Staffing ratios are reviewed against volume at least quarterly.
Support cost per provider drifts quietly.
Payroll tax deposits and clinical licensure renewals are current.
Hard stop — a lapse here outranks every other finding.
We could produce clean, reviewable books for a lender or buyer within 30 days.
Readiness is not something you build during diligence.
0
Not scored
0 of 20 answered
Score the statements above to see where the practice stands.
Revenue Cycle
Enter what you have. Each metric is scored against the benchmark range we publish for independent practices — days in A/R under 35 for primary care and under 45 for specialty, A/R over 90 below 15–18%, clean claims above 92%, net collection above 96%, denials under 8%.
How you compare
Metric
Yours
Benchmark
Read
Enter figures above.
0
Not scored
Revenue cycle score
Enter your revenue cycle figures to see the gaps.
Payer Mix & Contract Concentration
Two practices with the same patient volume can differ by 30% in revenue on contracts alone. Concentration is the risk; rate position is the opportunity.
Read
Signal
Yours
Watch level
Read
Enter figures above.
Enter your payer figures to see concentration and rate position.
Provider Productivity & Compensation
Provider compensation is usually the largest single cost in a practice. The question is not whether it is high but whether it moves with production.
Derived
Metric
Value
Read
Enter figures above.
Enter provider and staffing figures to see the ratios.
Profitability & 13-Week Cash
Primary care often runs 8–12% margin, specialty 15–25%, surgical groups higher. Cash on hand should cover at least 60 days of operating expense, ideally 90.
Position
Metric
Value
Benchmark
Read
Enter figures above.
Enter your revenue, expense, and cash figures.
Your results
Want this sent to you?
You have worked through the diagnostic — the figures above are yours and were never transmitted anywhere. If it is useful, we will email the benchmark templates behind it.
Location Comparison
Enter up to four locations. The point is not the ranking — it is whether the spread is explained by site, by payer contract, or by operating discipline.
Location
Net revenue ($)
Direct cost ($)
Occupancy ($)
Provider FTE
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
Site 4
Contribution by site
Site
Revenue
Contribution
Margin
Rev / FTE
Enter at least two locations.
Enter two or more locations to see the spread.
Shared Cost Allocation
Allocate everything evenly and a young site looks worse than it is. Allocate nothing and every site looks profitable while the group loses money. The corporate layer should stay visible.
After allocation
Site
Contribution
Allocated
Site profit
Margin
Complete the location comparison first.
Enter corporate overhead and choose a basis.
Reporting Readiness
Most groups outgrow their reporting before they outgrow their bookkeeping. The signal is a close that gets longer as sites are added.
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Not scored
Reporting readiness
Enter your structure to see where reporting stands.
Your results
Want this sent to you?
Your figures were never transmitted anywhere. If it is useful, we will email the multi-entity reporting templates behind this.
Frequently asked
What is a healthy days in A/R for a medical practice?
A healthy independent practice generally runs under 35 days in accounts receivable for primary care and under 45 days for specialty. Benchmarks vary by specialty, payer mix, and practice size. Days in A/R above 50 usually signals a problem in claim submission, denial follow-up, or patient collections rather than payer behavior.
How much cash should a medical practice keep on hand?
At least 60 days of operating expenses, and ideally 90. Practices with concentrated payer mix or seasonal volume should hold toward the higher end, because a single payer slowing payment can consume a thin reserve quickly.
What profit margin should a medical practice expect?
Primary care practices often run 8 to 12 percent, specialty practices 15 to 25 percent, and surgical groups higher. These are directional ranges. Margin depends heavily on payer contracts, provider compensation structure, ancillary revenue, and real estate cost, so two practices with identical volume can land far apart.
What denial rate is acceptable?
Under 8 percent, with the top three denial reasons identified and solved each quarter. First-pass clean claim rate should sit above 92 percent and net collection rate above 96 percent for contracted payers. Denials concentrated in a small number of CPT codes or a single payer are usually the fastest to fix.
Is this diagnostic a substitute for an accountant?
No. It is a directional self-assessment that scores your figures against published benchmarks and shows where the gaps are. It is not accounting, tax, legal, or clinical advice, and it does not replace a review of your actual books by a qualified professional.
