The rates for on-call physicians vary greatly—anywhere from $75 to $2,400 in median daily compensation—depending on specialty. That's according to the MGMA Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey for 2013.
The report shows that physicians in surgical specialties earned $1,000 in median daily on-call stipends, while primary-care doctors reported earning just a fraction of that rate—$150 per day in median compensation.
Of the 3,950 on-call providers representing 295 medical organizations that responded to the survey, more than 35% of them reported receiving a daily stipend for their on-call duties, up from about 30% in the previous year. More than 12% of participants said they were paid an annual stipend, and 7% reported hourly compensation for on-call coverage.
“The number of organizations paying for call in some form or another appears to be increasing as new physicians enter the workforce,” Jeffrey Milburn of the MGMA Health Care Consulting Group said in a news release. “Call compensation may address multiple variables, and methodologies can range from being a fairly simple hourly rate or annual stipend to a more complex arrangement addressing time and additional subsidies for uninsured patients, retention of professional fees, and restricted or unrestricted call coverage.”
MGMA-ACMPE cautions that the survey may not be indicative of trends in the healthcare industry because it depends on voluntary participation. This most recent survey is based on 2012 data, and for the first time, details compensation by practice ownership and medical group practice type.
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