Executive Leadership Newsletters

Health Governance Report Healthcare Leadership Review Medicine on the Net Physician Compensation & Recruitment

This 12-page monthly business newsletter focuses on the specifics of actual physician pay plans used by medical group practices.

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Physician Compensation & Recruitment

Issue 12, December 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Surgicalists, laborists follow hospitalist model

  In its short, 10-year existence, the term "hospitalist" has been associated predominantly with...

• Align compensation, P4P with these three strategies

  Until now, much of the dialogue surrounding pay for performance (P4P) has focused on big-picture...

• Weigh advantages, pitfalls of each before determining physician compensation

  Determining the type of relationship you will have with a physician-whether he or she will work as...

• Comp remains low for pediatricians, surges for subspecialists

  Compensation in pediatrics is currently headed in two directions. On one hand, compensation for...

Issue 11, November 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Two safe harbor surveys reveal minimal compensation increases 2004-2005

  Most specialties saw only minimal increases in median total cash compensation during the past year...

• Brush up on immigration law to recruit foreign graduates

  International medical graduates (IMG) account for one-quarter of the practicing U.S. physician...

• Colonoscopies blaze trail for rising gastroenterology comp

  Gastroenterologists earned a median total compensation of $384,015 in 2005-up from $368,733 in...

• 'Incubate' physicians to boost recruitment, practice success

  New compensation model allows hospitals to recruit physicians without violating Stark law When a...

Issue 10, October 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Majority of groups see financial loss despite physician comp increases

  Although most specialties saw increases in physician compensation between 2004 and 2005, the...

• Incentive plan payouts contribute to 7.2% boost in executive compensation

  Base salaries increased by 5.3% and total cash compensation jumped 7.2% for executives in hospitals...

• Survey shows residents have more offers, better outlook

  More than half of the 285 final-year medical residents surveyed in the Merritt, Hawkins...

• Reward your physician leader by following these five tips

  Finding a good physician leader can be difficult, because most physicians are trained to provide...

Issue 9, September 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• 'Tug of war' between specialists, hospitals spurs on-call pay increase

  Roughly 78% of healthcare organizations that provide on-call coverage at their facilities pay at...

• Expect comp fluctuations if proposed 2007 Medicare fee schedule passes

  Physicians will see a 5% cut in many of their Medicare reimbursements for next year, according to...

• Think outside the norm to boost productivity, fairly compensate docs

  Compared to many other professionals, physicians have an exceptionally long work week. In fact, the...

• Fundamentals for using the wRVU in your comp plan

  Work relative value units (wRVU) + practice ex-penses (PE) + malpractice expenses = Total RVUs...

Issue 8, August 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Despite pay increases, many EMPs concerned about crisis with profession

  Emergency departments (ED) are overwhelmed. Hospitals work feverishly to fill emergency medicine...

• No bones about it: Elevated demand pushes orthopedic surgery compensation upward

  Orthopedic surgeons saw a median compensation of $381,429 in 2004, an increase of 7.6% from the...

• Majority of providers remain in managed care networks, but 11.5% bow out

  The percentage of providers without a single managed care contract increased to 11.5% this year...

Issue 7, July 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Turnover concerns grow as doctor shortage looms and work habits change

  Ninety percent of medical groups that participated in the Cejka Search and AMGA 2005 Physician...

• Cardiologists' salary climbing overall, but financial pulse indicates slow-down

  Although pay is climbing for invasive and noninvasive cardiologists, the slowing pace of the...

• Revisit your income/expense distribution formula

  Your income/expense distribution formula both reflects and defines your practice's culture, says...

• Know the steps to take to prevent problems in your group's compensation plan

  When a physician decides that he or she wants to go part-time, the decision often throws a...

Issue 6, June 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Variations in malpractice rates help shape physician compensation, recruitment

  Few issues unite physicians as can the mention of malpractice. Proponents of medical liability...

• Medical directors, RNs see wage dips

  Nine out of 24 healthcare positions included in the Business & Legal Reports, Inc. (BLR), 2005...

• Base pay up in most specialties, HCS 2006 survey shows

  In 2005, base pay rose for most physician specialties, with cardiothoracic surgeons, radiologists...

• Sift through Internet benchmarks to find what your practice needs for comp plans

  In business, having strong personnel is one of the best ways to enhance or sustain a competitive...

Issue 5, May 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Study sheds light on benefits of disclosing docs' financial incentives

  Could releasing pay plan info build patient-practice relations? Disclosing your physician...

• Technology and competing subspecialties cut into general surgery compensation

  The juxtaposition of declining physician numbers and dips in Medicare fees usually causes physician...

• Boost compensation by getting fully reimbursed for out-of-network services

  Your compensation depends as much on your practice's ability to get reimbursed by payers as it does...

Issue 4, April 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How supercenters will affect primary care practices' futures

  Primary care physicians (PCP) have struggled to maintain their compensation levels, settling in at...

• Retiring baby boomers set stage for gender parity in healthcare

  Women comprised about 27% of U.S. physicians in 2004-a slow but steady climb from 26% in 2003 and...

• Search demand steady for cardiology, general surgery, survey shows

  Orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, and family medicine providers vacillated between the top...

• These healthcare initiatives may hit your bottom line in '06

  You need to stay atop the ever-changing slew of healthcare initiatives, especially those that will...

Issue 3, March 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Marked demands for hospitalists not enough to drive larger compensation climbs

  Five years ago, the iPod® existed only in the minds of those at Apple Computer, Inc. In 2003, few...

• Boost productivity, reduce turnover for mid-level providers with incentive plans

  Mid-level staff, including licensed practical nurses (LPN), RNs, physician assistants (PA), and...

• Encourage desired physician behavior; improve productivity through performance

  Before you can develop a pay plan that rewards physicians for their productivity, you must first...

• Hospitalists add value to hospitals, aid PCPs

  Outpatient medicine has become increasingly complex. Advances in medical technology have made it...

Issue 2, February 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Operating costs up; total revenue down

  During the past 16 years, the average practice operating cost has risen 87% from $189,462 (1988) to...

• Psychiatry salary still lower than other specialties, but steadily increasing

  Despite an estimated 44.3 million Americans age 18 and older who suffer from a mental disorder in a...

• When the price isn’t right: Your expenses vs. cost data

  Benchmarking your practice’s costs is the best way to ensure that your pay plan doesn’t...

• Detect doc dissatisfaction with comp plan questionnaire

  Concern about finances is the number one reason physicians leave group practices, says Reed...

• Link patient satisfaction scores to doctors’ income

  The daily challenges of running a practice make it easy to forget that patients are your number-one...

Issue 1, January 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Make locum tenens a permanent contingency expense in your pay plan

  Today’s physician juggles high malpractice insurance rates, decreased Medicare and Medicaid...

• Not drowsy from the stasis: Anesthesiology experiencing undercurrent of change

  After several years of sharp increases in compensation, industry experts say anesthesiology pay...

• Climb seven steps to conquer group comp planning

  Conquering compensation planning means shifting gears from medical professional to mountaineer...