ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 7, 2009 - 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 (MGMA's) Medical Directorship/On Call Compensation Survey: 2009 Report Based on 2008 Data. The greatest discrepancy was 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.
"There is a dearth of information on what it means to be a medical director. It appears that there are discrepancies among specialties, areas of responsibility, and subsequently, compensation. We are trying to reveal the standards of directorships for our members, who have requested these data for some time," said William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA.
MGMA's Medical Directorship/On-Call Compensation Survey Report contains the most comprehensive data in the industry. This marks the first time that MGMA has released survey data on medical directorships and on-call compensation.
Note: MGMA surveys depend on voluntary participation and may not be representative of the industry. Readers are urged to review the entire survey report when making conclusions regarding trends or other observations
To request an editorial copy of the full report, please contact MGMA Public Relations at [email protected]. Nonmedia wishing to purchase the report should visit.
About MGMA
MGMA is the premier membership association for professional administrators and leaders of medical group practices. Since 1926, MGMA has delivered networking, professional education and resources, and political advocacy for medical practice management. Today, MGMA's 22,500 members lead 13,700 organizations nationwide in which some 275,000 physicians provide more than 40 percent of the health care services delivered in the United States.
MGMA's mission is to continually improve the performance of medical group practice professionals and the organizations they represent. MGMA promotes the group practice model as the optimal framework for health care delivery, assisting group practices in providing efficient, safe, patient-focused and affordable care. MGMA is headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and maintains a government affairs office in Washington, D.C. Please visit mgma.com.