Understanding the Maze of Physician Compensation

Understanding the Maze of Physician Compensation Physician compensation is a complex topic that few truly understand. Even industry experts often have a hard time wrapping their heads around the all the different compensation models on the market. That's why many choose to hire healthcare consultants who can help guide the process.

Here's what you need to know to understand physician compensation.

Trends in Physician Compensation Compensation today is drastically different than just 5 or 10 years ago. Today, family doctors take home approximately $200,000 per year. Just five years ago, they earned just over $170,000 per year. By contrast, primary care physicians saw a pay increase that barely kept up with inflation.

Some fields actually saw a decrease in pay over the last 5 years. For example, ER room doctors, specialists and many types of surgeons saw pay decreases between 3% and 10%.

One interesting trend is the reduced income gap between male and female physicians. Some attribute it to increasing female pay, though others point to differences in workplace choices. Male doctors often choose to practice part time, whereas female doctors are choosing more full time work.

Different Models of Payment Physician models change over time. Models vary from facility to facility. The payment model you choose needs to match both your industry and the needs of your physicians.

The salary plus bonus model tends to work in large medical institutions, like corporate medical facilities or HMOs. The model is most appealing to healthcare HR beginning physicians who value the security, though the reduced upside is off putting to top grade doctors.

Equal share models are more appealing to high end doctors, as are productivity based compensation models. Often these models produce more driven work environments, which can take a toll on less driven physicians.

At the end of the day, selecting the right models, pay structures and salaries can be incredibly challenging. That's why many experts recommend bringing in healthcare HR consultants to help with the task.