Medical Staff

Pay system must be simple, flexible

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, January 3, 2007

The best compensation plans for hospitalists are simple and flexible according to an article in the December 2006 issue of Today's Hospitalist. The article reported on a presentation at the University of California, San Francisco by John Nelson, MD, a founder of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

According to Nelson, there's no one-size-fits-all compensation method. However, all such systems must be easy to explain, understand, and defend. He states in the article that he often visits hospitalist programs and asks the physicians to explain their pay system. "Half the time, the doctors can't," he is quoted as saying.

Many programs use salary survey data as their benchmark in setting compensation rates, the article states. Nelson advises using such survey data merely as a starting point and taking into consideration all of the local factors that affect your program.

To access the compete article, click here.

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