Physician compensation models are notoriously complex and opaque. Yet compensation is the point at which employed physicians feel change most acutely, and change has been widespread.
The transition from a volume-based to value-based health care economy means that organizations need to realign compensation models to incent providers to deliver quality, safety and efficiency.
David Knocke, president of BJC Medical Group, and I outlined the importance of a transparent change process when restructuring physician compensation models in the recent edition of Group Practice Journal:
“Teams operating in a culture of transparency are essential to building trust, overcoming barriers, and achieving key objectives. Yet, as important as transparency is to managing change, most organizations appear to have a gap.”
How you approach this gap is paramount for future recruitment efforts and staff engagement. Seize this opportunity to build transparency and achieve your organization’s goals.
Downstream Effects
For compensation models based primarily on cash and collections – a mainstay of pre-healthcare reform reimbursement structures – income is heavily dependent on an organization’s community and payer mix.
The downstream effect can wreak havoc on your recruitment platform when income disparity and complex compensation models make vacancies difficult to fill. The result: competition between facilities within a health system. This unhealthy competition is often compounded by gaps in recruitment resources and lack of synergistic candidate outreach.
On the other hand, the strategic investment in a transparent, system-wide communication and reporting infrastructure can pay dividends over the long term.
As one administrator told us: “Communicating and collaborating – not competing internally – has been key to getting the best docs.”
Lori Schutte is president of Cejka Search, a physician, allied health and health care executive search firm providing services exclusively to the health care industry.