Compensation to physicians for medical directorships in nonhospital-owned group practices is greater than in hospital-owned practices for all specialties except primary care, according to the Medical Group Management Association’s 2009 Medical Directorship/On Call Compensation Survey. The survey, which was based on 2008 data, found the greatest discrepancy among nonsurgical specialists in nonhospital-owned practices, who received $27,400 more annually than their counterparts in hospital-owned practices. Compensation also varied greatly across specialties, with geriatricians receiving the highest annualized compensation ($172,121).
Across all specialty classifications, recruitment and physician education responsibilities yielded the highest compensation. Physician education duties increased primary care compensation by 82 percent; surgical and nonsurgical specialists reported compensation increases above 100 percent. In apparent response to the shortage of primary care physicians, primary care medical directors with recruitment responsibilities exhibit the greatest variation in annualized compensation: a reported $27,430 compared with $13,980 for directors without recruitment responsibilities. Most medical directors spent approximately five hours per week on directorship duties, regardless of practice ownership.
View graphics illustrating directorship compensation, compensation by selected duties, and hours spent per week on directorship duties.
