Healthcare reform is changing the landscape in the United States and the specialty physician population is changing as well.
According to a Sullivan, Cotter and Associates report, the 2014 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey. There was data from 517 organizations covering more than 98,000 healthcare providers and 240 specialties and position.
Here are seven key trends for specialty physicians:
1. An increasing number of employed physicians who are expanding their use of advanced practice clinicians. This year, 68 percent of the participants said they increased their employed physician and APC population.
2. Another 66 percent of the organizations said the planned to increase the number of employed physicians and APCs within the next year.
3. The median total cash compensation increased 4.9 percent for primary care and 1.9 percent for medical specialties.
4. The cash compensation increase was slightly less than the increases in 2013. Primary care physician pay increase was 5.7 percent in 2013 and medical specialty increase was 3.2 percent.
5. Physician compensation for quality is becoming more prevalent with 39 percent reporting using quality metrics. In 2013, 32 percent reported using quality metrics.
6. Overall quality incentives were around 5 percent of the physician total cash compensation.
7. The link between quality and compensation is expected to increase over the next few years.
"Organizations must understand the effect quality incentives have on the compensation and behavior of the physician as well as the organization's finances," said Managing Principal and National Physician Compensation Practice Leader Kim Mobley. "The physician compensation plan and philosophy should align with organizational objectives to ensure the physicians are prepared for. Choosing measurable quality metrics is key to physician buy-in."