Physician Practice

Creating a sketch of today's hard-working medical practice professional

Physician Practice Insider, August 7, 2017

Here’s a composite portrait of the current medical practice professional toiling away in one of our nation’s medical practices: She’s between the ages of 41 and 60, earns about $55,000 per year, works a 40-hour week, has taken on new job duties in the past year and has considerable experience in her work setting.

That’s what the responses of more than 85 medical practice professionals taking part in the 2017 DecisionHealth Salary Survey show. About 76% of respondents are between the ages of 41 and 60, and the average staff member has 16 years of experience in the medical practice setting.

More than two-thirds of survey respondents (76%) hold a professional certification, such as a coding, advanced coding or health information certification. By and large, professionals with a certification received and maintain it to gain employment (64%) and about half of professionals (50%) maintain certification to seek career advancement.

The lion’s share of respondents report working in a physician-owned medical practice (39%), followed by the health system setting (14%) and for a billing company (11%).

About six in 10 professionals (60%) have taken on new duties under their current position over the past year, with compliance-related issues being the most prevalent area that professionals are delving into (45%).

While the majority of professionals work in non-management positions (68%), nearly two-thirds have direct reports. And, in good news, more than seven in 10 professionals reported a pay raise in the past year.

 

This article was originally published in Medical Practice Coding Pro. Subscribers can read more in the August 2017 issue.

 

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