Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physician Revenue in Ambulatory Settings

This study will leverage a mixed-methods approach to explore the following research aims: 1) quantitative analysis: using a combination of Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty (MD-PPAS), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Compendium of U.S. Health Care Systems, National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Quality Payment Program data, the team will a) explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care physician Medicare revenues and b) identify factors associated with changes in revenue between 2019 and 2020 (e.g. region, rurality, participation in alternative payment models, practice size/ownership, etc.); and 2) qualitative analysis: through interviews with practice leaders whose revenues were most and least impacted by the pandemic, the team will identify strategies used by practices to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.