How Two AAOE Practices Turned Data into a Decision

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

One forward-thinking practice CEO uncovered hidden revenue opportunities by comparing billing performance to peers. Another administrator used compensation benchmarking to confidently advocate for herself and earned a well-deserved raise.

Behind every confident decision is the courage to ask the question, and the data to answer it.

That's the throughline in AAOE's new whitepaper, Leveraging Benchmarking Data for Success in Orthopedic Practices. Practice leaders from across the country shared how the AAOE Benchmarking Survey changed what they saw in their own data, and what they did next. Here are two of their stories.

Turning a Blind Spot Into a Fix

At The Orthopaedic Clinic, PC, CEO Terry Rosenthal, MBA, ATC, didn't settle for thinking the practice's accounts receivable process was "good enough." Benchmarking revealed their days in A/R ranked in the 25th percentile among orthopedic practices, giving the team the insight they needed to make meaningful improvements and strengthen financial performance.

"We really wouldn't have known that we were struggling in our accounts receivable had we not looked at the benchmarking survey and realized that this is not where we need to be," Rosenthal said.

The practice overhauled its front-end process, adding a kiosk system to collect co-pays and verify insurance at check-in. Denial rates dropped. Mismatched insurance information dropped. Co-pay collections went up.

“The sooner you can get proper information, the sooner you can get proper claims out, and get your money back faster,” Rosenthal said. “We became much more efficient and now are much more in line with the benchmarks where we want to be versus where we were before we discovered it.”

Using Data to Make the Case for Fair Pay

Tara Holicky, Administrator at Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder, had been working hard at her practice for several years before she thought to check her own compensation against the market.

“When I first started, I thought I was being paid fairly, and I didn't give any real thought to my compensation,” Holicky said. “Then I started digging into the benchmarks for practice administrator compensation and realized that my salary was not in alignment with other practices.”

She brought that data to her board when she asked for a raise, showing compensation figures for administrators at similarly sized orthopedic practices with comparable responsibilities. The board approved a significant increase, and pointed to the objective data as a big reason why.

The Common Thread

Rosenthal and Holicky didn't just act on instinct. They acted because they finally had context: a way to see whether a number was a real problem, a normal part of the industry, or an opportunity sitting in plain sight.

That's what benchmarking actually offers. Not a report to file away, but a tool practice leaders come back to again and again, in board meetings, compensation conversations, and the everyday calls that shape how a practice runs.

Curious what your own numbers would tell you? The AAOE Benchmarking Survey is open now, with the deadline extended to August 31, at aaoe.net/benchmarking.