HCPro.com: Physician Compensation & Recruitment

August 2008 (Volume 9, Issue 8)	view entire issue

Growing demand and steady profits keep orthopedic surgery compensation high
Orthopedic surgeons may have initially been alarmed at the 4.3% compensation increase in the 2007 MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey after seeing 7.9% growth the previous year. But it's nothing to be alarmed about-orthopedic surgery remains one of the highest-performing specialties. The drop is more a product of across-the-board compensation stagnation than a problem specific to orthopedic surgery. The average specialty increased 1.8%, and orthopedic surgeons saw a bigger jump in compensation than most other specialists.

IMG physicians can ease looming shortage
Doctors are doctors, regardless of where they hail from. But as the baby boomer generation threatens to add to a growing physician shortage, U.S. healthcare facilities are turning to international medical graduates (IMG) to fill the voids. Nearly one-quarter of all practicing physicians in the United States are IMGs, according to an article published in the July/August 2007 Health Affairs. Recent studies report similar findings, says David N. Gans, vice president of practice management resources at the Englewood, CO-based MGMA.

Choose the right on-call comp model for your hospital
Paying physicians for ED call coverage is no longer simply a cost incurred by a hospital-for many facilities, it is becoming an essential investment. Physicians are increasingly unwilling to take call voluntarily or in exchange for medical staff privileges, and payment for call, although expensive, ensures that the hospital can maintain services and helps strengthen physician-hospital alignment. However, hospitals now have many on-call compensation models to choose from, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. And new options are emerging every day.

'Float pool' offers alternative to locum tenens
Practices have always had to handle temporary physician vacancies from maternity leave, a scheduled vacation, or an unexpected resignation or firing, but as more physicians opt for part-time work options, filling these vacancies is becoming an increasingly common problem. The first place most practices look to solve this problem is locum tenens physicians, which are temporary doctors hired from an external agency. Seventy-seven percent of healthcare facilities have used a locum tenens physician within the past 12 months, and 54% are currently looking for locums to supplement the existing staff, according Staff Care's 2008 Review of Temporary Physician Staffing Trends.

Other recently-published articles from Physician Compensation & Recruitment:

OIG, CMS promise increased scrutiny. Are you prepared yet?

Low reimbursement depresses compensation

Experts: Economic woes, physician demand, wRVUs to figure prominently in 2009

In debt, heavily recruited, and aware of their value, residents are making their career decisions earlier

High demand, increased procedures drive compensation

Hospitals turn to employment model as on-call solution

Low compensation continues to create challenges

On-call pay trends begin to stabilize, survey finds

Recruiters seek efficiency in ailing economy, tight market

Low comp creates geriatrician shortage as population ages

Primary care reports bigger compensation increases than normal as specialists struggle to keep pace with inflation

IPPS, fee schedule contain new Stark changes

’Float pool’ offers alternative to locum tenens

Choose the right on-call comp model for your hospital

IMG physicians can ease looming shortage

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