General internists in group practice had a median of 3,336 ambulatory encounters in 2010, down almost 3% since 2007, according to a survey by the Medical Group Management Association.
Internists in the southern United States had the highest number of ambulatory encounters, 3,628, while those in Midwest, with 2,943 encounters, had the lowest, the MGMA reported. Male internists had a median of 3,499 ambulatory encounters, while the median for female internists was 2,965.
The MGMA considered an ambulatory encounter to be "documented, face-to-face contact between a patient and a provider" that did not take place in an inpatient hospital and did not involve a surgical procedure.
The 2010 edition of the annual survey, conducted among MGMA members and nonmembers, includes data from 2,846 group practices representing 59,375 physician and nonphysician providers. The MGMA presents highlights of the survey in its In Practice blog.