Pinnacle Health Group’s Annual Physician Compensation Survey

Pinnacle Health Group’s compensation data is based on mean compensation and/or base salary for 30,000 surveyed doctors as well as actual placements and physician searches for 155 healthcare groups between 2011 and early 2012. Data was compiled from surveyed physicians (70%), hospitals and group practices (25%) and other settings (5%), covering 42 specialties and 20 states. Approximately 70% of the facilities for which searches were performed were placing and relocating physicians on behalf of affiliated practices, healthcare management systems and physician groups. Around 99% of these participants placed physicians under the employment model. Conversely, income guarantees and other related loan arrangements played little role in the compensation models for either facilities or physicians.

Compensation Survey:

* Based on median compensation and/or base salary for 30,000 surveyed doctors as well as, actual placements and physician searches for 155 healthcare groups between 2011 and 2012, covering 42 specialties and 20 states.

Compensation trends. The shift towards the employment model has become evident. With the recent changes in the industry, employment is now preferred by both physicians and healthcare organizations. Nearly all of the practice opportunities represented by Pinnacle Health Group offered employment arrangements. Income guarantee loans and other related compensation structures played very little, to no role in physician recruitment. The most common method of measuring productivity and incentives is wRVU (work relative value units) production along with guaranteed base salary. Due to physician shortages, facilities are providing higher signing bonuses, loan repayments, relocation expenses, health coverage and other incentives. New graduates are also offered stipends.

New ancillary services. Because cost cutting is of ever increasing importance, setting up new ancillary services is uncommon in today’s market. Although new ancillary services depend on a physician’s specialty, the more prevalent ones today include in-house laboratories and imaging capabilities.

Recruitment Incentives. Healthcare facilities offer the following incentives to recruit their preferred physicians (in no particular order): (1) sign-on bonuses and higher base guarantees, (2) performance incentives (3) clinical and non-clinical program development stipends and student loan repayments.

Difficult specialties to recruit. While the market is highly competitive for all specialties, those with a larger pool of candidates are considered slightly easier to recruit. Specialties with a lower number of trained physicians are obviously more difficult to recruit.  These specialties include (in no particular order): Urology, Pulmonary Critical Care, Otolaryngology, Dermatology and Primary Care (Internal Medicine and Family Practice).

To read or view the full version of Pinnacle Health Group’s compensation survey, or for comments, suggestions and queries, email us at info@phg.com or jestialbo@phg.com for John Andrew Estialbo and mbroxterman@phg.com for COO Michael P. Broxterman, or call us through 1-800-789-6684 (main) or 404-816-8831 (local).