Specialists saw a 2 percent median pay increase this year compared to 2017 while median primary care physician compensation remained flat, according to an ECG Management Consultants survey.
ECG surveyed more than 27,534 physicians and 7,511 advanced practice providers.
Here are five takeaways:
1. An increase in physician compensation could indicate an organization valued quality over quantity, which is ECG said is important with the move to value-based care.
2. The median work relative value unit decreased by about 2 percent for both specialists and PCPs.
3. Roughly 80 percent of physicians received payment under a type of variable compensation plan. Quality data and patient satisfaction scores were the primary nonproduction incentive metrics used in physician compensation plans.
4. Compensation for all advanced practice providers increased by 6.6 percent compared to 2017.
5. Compensation was the top line-item expense for providers, comprising 50 percent to 70 percent of operating costs. However, physician recruitment was challenging; between 64 percent and 100 percent of open positions in four of the most highly sought-after specialties took at least six months to fill.