Contracting

What You Need to Know About Physician Recruiting Incentives

2017-06-28T11:40:59-05:00

If you work for a large medical group or hospital system, you may be involved with recruiting physicians or negotiating employment agreements. It’s a set of skills worth learning because so many systems are on a recruiting binge. Salary levels have consistently grown at single digit rates for years. But the type and size of physician recruiting incentives have been more variable. With the recent release of the Merritt Hawkins 2017 Review of Physicians and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives, [...]

What You Need to Know About Physician Recruiting Incentives2017-06-28T11:40:59-05:00

Inflated Physician Compensation Prompts OIG Scrutiny

2017-06-17T12:26:34-05:00

Modern Healthcare recently reported that Mercy Hospital Springfield and its affiliate clinic settled a case with the Department of Justice for allegedly submitting false claims to Medicare (Mercy pays $34 million to settle fraud, physician compensation claims). The case involved allegations of inflated physician compensation at an infusion center. Modern Healthcare quoted the DOJ: “When physicians are rewarded financially for referring patients to hospitals or other healthcare providers, it can affect their medical judgment, resulting in a overutilization [...]

Inflated Physician Compensation Prompts OIG Scrutiny2017-06-17T12:26:34-05:00

Why Demoralize Your Employed Physicians Over Tail Coverage?

2017-01-01T11:11:33-06:00

I was sitting across the table with a new family physician recruit for the third time. He was a particularly challenging recruit to work with, but we really needed family physicians. We had added several physician assistants and nurse practitioners and we needed qualified primary care physicians to collaborate with them. We were back to discussing tail coverage. I had explained to the candidate that it was our practice to require tail coverage to be covered by the physician. It was [...]

Why Demoralize Your Employed Physicians Over Tail Coverage?2017-01-01T11:11:33-06:00

What’s Driving Physician Obsession with Compensation And How Can You Help?

2016-10-23T14:36:36-05:00

Employed physicians are very concerned with their contracts and compensation. What sometimes seems like a legal formality to employers, is a document (employment agreement) that basically defines the legal boundaries of their professional lives. Newly employed physicians often ask me how to maximize their incomes under their current employment agreements. As an administrator dealing with employed physicians, it is easy to become cynical about this topic. It seems as if some of our physician candidates and employees are concerned more with [...]

What’s Driving Physician Obsession with Compensation And How Can You Help?2016-10-23T14:36:36-05:00

Health System Physician Employment Is Still Growing

2016-11-17T11:37:23-06:00

Physician employment by hospitals grew 49% between July 2012 and July 2015, according to the Physicians Advocacy Institute. Many formerly independent physicians have sold their practices and become employed. A high percentage of newly trained physicians are also signing with hospitals and health systems. physician employment contract “Let's call it quits.” I said. “We've been negotiating this agreement off and on for three years.” The CFO looked at me: “I'd like to.” He was frustrated because he knew [...]

Health System Physician Employment Is Still Growing2016-11-17T11:37:23-06:00

Physician Salaries and OIG Risk

2016-09-15T04:27:22-05:00

I have been following news reports about recent OIG (Office of Inspector General) investigations related to physician compensation. These investigations have resulted in fines related to alleged Stark Law and FCA (False Claims Act) violations. There seems to be more activity recently, including investigations in response to whistle-blower lawsuits. Here is my take: Hospitals and health systems that use survey data (such as MGMA and AMGA) to set compensation levels for newly employed physicians are under intense scrutiny. This scrutiny results [...]

Physician Salaries and OIG Risk2016-09-15T04:27:22-05:00

More on Understanding Relative Value Units (RVUs) in Employment Agreements

2016-10-06T17:34:51-05:00

Some of you emerging executives may become involved in recruiting new physicians and negotiating contracts. For those, I am providing the following discussion about the use of worked relative value units (wRVUs) in that process. I previously posted an introduction to the topic here: Physician Employment Agreements. Suppose that your organization is offering the following salary proposal: two years at a fixed salary, followed by a third year in which it converts to a fixed component PLUS an RVU based bonus. Let's review the rationale [...]

More on Understanding Relative Value Units (RVUs) in Employment Agreements2016-10-06T17:34:51-05:00

Physician Employment Agreements

2016-10-06T17:33:24-05:00

I was working as CMO when the VP for the medical group left the organization. The CEO asked if I would temporarily take over administrative responsibility for the division. I knew all of the providers, and I enjoy working with contracts, so it made sense for me to step in. I would soon become well-versed in physician employment agreements. I quickly found that there was a significant backlog of employment agreements that needed to be addressed. We had several [...]

Physician Employment Agreements2016-10-06T17:33:24-05:00

Contact Info

Recent Posts

Go to Top