A RECENT SURVEY using data from 2006 suggests that physician-owned practices are closing the gap with hospital- and integrated system-owned (IDS) practices with regard to salary compensation.
“To attract physicians, physician-owned practices have had to step up and match their salaries with those offered by IDS-owned practices to be competitive,” said Crystal Taylor, MGMA Survey Operations assistant director.
The survey, “Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey: 2007 Report Based on 2006 Data,” conducted by the Medical Group Management Association in collaboration with the National Association of Physician Recruiters, shows that physician-owned practices offer comparable salaries to hospital/IDS salaries for family practice without obstetrics ($130,000 vs. $135,000), general internal medicine ($150,000 vs. $145,000) and non-invasive diagnostic radiology ($350,000 vs. $345,000).
According to the report, in 2005 hospital- and IDS-owned practices offered higher starting compensation to experienced physicians who were new to the practice and physicians in their first year out of residency or fellowship in nine specialties – neurology, OB/GYN, pediatrics, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, hospitalist internal medicine, orthopedic surgery and general surgery.
In 2006, however, data indicates that physician-owned practices offered higher starting compensation in internal medicine, hospitalist internal medicine, orthopedic surgery and pediatrics.
“The starting salaries can be based on experience. There are some exceptions, some specialties have a shortage or are becoming really in demand such as female OB/GYNs,” Taylor said.
The starting median compensation level for all new primary care physicians in 2006 was $145,285 annually, compared with median compensation of $171,519 for all established primary care physicians, the survey report shows. For specialty physicians, the median compensation levels were $275,000 and $322,149, respectively.
“IDS’s have the ability to offer the higher salaries because they have the full facility revenue coming in and are more in demand,” Taylor said.
Reported median signing bonuses for new physicians range from $10,000 to $42,500, while relocation packages range from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on specialty.
The report also indicates California and Tennessee are no longer among the top six states for new-physician placement, having been replaced by Illinois and Wisconsin. The four that maintained their top status are Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina and Texas. However, the latter three saw their shares as a percentage of all new-physician placements shrink from 2005 to 2006.
The 2008 report, with 2007 data, will be out in late spring or early summer, according to Martin Osinski, president of the American Medical Consultants and the NAPR.