Discussing physician executive compensation at #ACPEfall2011

I've spent the past few days attending the 2011 ACPE Fall Institute. Yesterday, I attended a session titled, "Cejka Search/ACPE 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey Panel Presentation."

The eighth biennial survey of ACPE members identifies key trends and factors driving today's physician executive compensation and serves as an essential reference resource for physician executives and healthcare organizations developing leadership roles for physicians.

Overall median compensation for physician executives in 2011 = $305,000

The two-year rate of increase in total compensation – at 5.9% – is well below the 11.6% increase reported in 2009 and the lowest since the 2001 survey reported 5.0% increase. Higher-ranking physician executives experienced a greater reduction in the rate of growth in total compensation than those in other roles.

ACPE Leadership Roundtable: Physician Executive Compensation Survey Panel Presentation

This afternoon, here at the ACPE 2011 Fall Institute, there will be a special session titled, the "Cejka Search/ACPE 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey Panel Presentation."

Paul Esselman, Executive Vice President and Managing Principal of Cejka Executive Search, will lead an interactive roundtable discussion with four respected and experienced physician executives.

Gain the insights and learn from the experience of these leading physician executives as they share their expertise on today's most important issues in compensation and physician leadership as reported from your responses to the 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey by Cejka Executive Search and the American College of Physician Executives.

Findings from 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey

Cejka Executive Search and the American College of Physician Executives Release Findings from 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Physician executive compensation experienced the lowest growth rate for the first time in ten years, according to the Cejka Executive Search and American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2011 Physician Executive Compensation Survey. In this eighth biennial survey of ACPE members, key trends and factors that drive change in physician executive compensation are identified. The results of the survey will be presented at the ACPE 2011 Fall Institute on November 8, 2011 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Impact of a dual PharmD/MBA degree on career opportunities and earning potential

What can medical students and physicians learn from our pharmacy colleagues? Let's take a look at this study titled, "Impact of a dual PharmD/MBA degree on career opportunities and earning potential."

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the academic experience and satisfaction of students who completed a dual PharmD/MBA degree program and the program's long-term impact on the students' career choice and earning potential.

METHODS: GPAs, job placement, and starting job salaries were compared between graduates who completed the dual PharmD/MBA program and those who completed only the PharmD program. A satisfaction survey instrument was administered to 17 students who completed the dual PharmD/MBA degree program in May 2007. Data from a standardized job placement and starting salary survey instrument completed by all PharmD graduates were also obtained, as well as all students' final grade point averages (GPAs). GPAs, job placement, and starting job salaries were compared between graduates who had completed the dual PharmD/MBA program and those who had completed only the PharmD program.

RESULTS: The graduating GPAs of dual-degree students were higher than those of both pharmacy (3.52 vs 3.41, p > 0.10) and business (3.82 vs. 3.68, p = 0.018) students not enrolled in the dual-degree program. Dual-degree students were slightly less likely to enter a residency (17% vs. 27%, p = 0.44) than other pharmacy graduates. Among those who elected not to pursue a residency, both mean starting salaries ($111,090 vs. $101,965) and mean total first-year compensation ($127,290 vs. $110,388) were significantly higher for dual-degree graduates compared to the PharmD graduates.

Physician Executive Compensation

The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) has a nice article on physician executive compensation on their website. Here are some snippets from the 2009 Physician Executive Compensation Survey:

According to the 2009 survey results, physician executive median compensation averages $288,000, representing a two-year increase of 11.6 percent from the 2007 survey at $258,000 and a 10-year increase of 44 percent over the median compensation reported in the 1999 survey at $200,000.

The respondents to the 2009 Physician Executive Compensation Survey represent 57 medical specialties. Of these, eight specialties are represented by at least 50 respondents and account for 67 percent of the total respondents.

Practice of Clinical Medicine	Yes	No
Does your organization compensate you for time lost from clinical productivity?	25%	75%
Do you continue to practice medicine?	68%	32%
Is maintaining clinical hours a requirement of your job?	42%	58%

Visit the ACPE website to read the 2009 Physician Executive Compensation Survey.

Another Physician Compensation Survey

According to the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) 2008 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey, physician pay went up in 2007 by roughly 3.5%. According to this report, medical specialties that experienced the lowest increases included allergy medicine, endocrinology, pulmonary medicine and emergency medicine. With Medicare reimbursement decreasing and managed care organizations trying to push pay-for-performance (P4P) and other initiatives, physician payment is all over the map for various specialties. The survey was conducted among 44,000 health care providers, 2,700 medical groups, and 116 specialties in the United States.