Beginning in 2010, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the Medical Group Management Association teamed up to conduct an annual survey of hospital medicine groups and hospitalists. This year's "State of Hospital Medicine: 2011 Report Based on 2010," the groups' second study, focused on several hospitalist compensation figures, but the key findings were not limited to salary trends alone. Here are 15 of the big takeaways from the groups' report.
1. Hospitalist gender. Of the responding hospitalists, roughly 65 percent were male, while 35 percent were female.
2. Hospitalist specialty. Nearly 88 percent of respondents said they were internal medicine hospitalists, by far the most common specialty. Family practice and pediatric hospitalists were the next two most common specialties.
3. Teaching service. Sixty-three percent of hospitalist respondents worked at a non-teaching hospital.
4. Clinical services provided. The five most common clinical services provided by hospitalists are primary care referrals, emergency department admissions, transferred patients, short-stay patients and surgical co-management.
5. Night coverage. Roughly 81 percent of responding hospital medicine practices had physicians providing on-site care at night. Thirteen percent provided a combination of on-call, on-site or another form of night coverage.
6. Hospitalist compensation. The average compensation of adult hospitalists in fiscal year 2010 was $220,619, up 2.6 percent from FY 2009.
7. Compensation distribution. Production and performance incentives comprised 20 percent of a hospitalist's total compensation in 2010, while the other 80 percent was the base salary.
8. Geographic compensation. Adult hospitalist compensation was highest in the South ($247,000) and was lowest in the East ($212,000) in 2010.
9. Work relative value units. Adult hospitalists averaged 4,166 work RVUs in 2010, and the median compensation per work RVU was $54.38.
10. Pediatric hospitalist work RVUs. Pediatric hospitalists had the highest average compensation per work RVU ($83.15) of all hospitalist specialties in 2010.
11. Joining physicians. Most physicians (52 percent) joining hospitalist medicine practices came directly from a residency or fellowship, while 38 percent came from another hospitalist program.
12. Leaving physicians. Most physicians (53 percent) leaving a hospitalist practice said they left for another hospitalist program. Only two percent retired, and 16 percent went to a different field of medicine.
13. Hospital employment. More than half of the respondent hospitalist groups (57 percent) were owned by a hospital or integrated delivery system. This represented 53 percent of all hospitalists.
14. Staffing arrangements. Roughly 49 percent of respondents said they have nurse practitioners and/or physician assistants working in their practice.
15. CPT code distribution. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of responding hospitalists serving adult patients said they billed inpatient admissions at the highest (99223) level.
CPT copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.
1. Hospitalist gender. Of the responding hospitalists, roughly 65 percent were male, while 35 percent were female.
2. Hospitalist specialty. Nearly 88 percent of respondents said they were internal medicine hospitalists, by far the most common specialty. Family practice and pediatric hospitalists were the next two most common specialties.
3. Teaching service. Sixty-three percent of hospitalist respondents worked at a non-teaching hospital.
4. Clinical services provided. The five most common clinical services provided by hospitalists are primary care referrals, emergency department admissions, transferred patients, short-stay patients and surgical co-management.
5. Night coverage. Roughly 81 percent of responding hospital medicine practices had physicians providing on-site care at night. Thirteen percent provided a combination of on-call, on-site or another form of night coverage.
6. Hospitalist compensation. The average compensation of adult hospitalists in fiscal year 2010 was $220,619, up 2.6 percent from FY 2009.
7. Compensation distribution. Production and performance incentives comprised 20 percent of a hospitalist's total compensation in 2010, while the other 80 percent was the base salary.
8. Geographic compensation. Adult hospitalist compensation was highest in the South ($247,000) and was lowest in the East ($212,000) in 2010.
9. Work relative value units. Adult hospitalists averaged 4,166 work RVUs in 2010, and the median compensation per work RVU was $54.38.
10. Pediatric hospitalist work RVUs. Pediatric hospitalists had the highest average compensation per work RVU ($83.15) of all hospitalist specialties in 2010.
11. Joining physicians. Most physicians (52 percent) joining hospitalist medicine practices came directly from a residency or fellowship, while 38 percent came from another hospitalist program.
12. Leaving physicians. Most physicians (53 percent) leaving a hospitalist practice said they left for another hospitalist program. Only two percent retired, and 16 percent went to a different field of medicine.
13. Hospital employment. More than half of the respondent hospitalist groups (57 percent) were owned by a hospital or integrated delivery system. This represented 53 percent of all hospitalists.
14. Staffing arrangements. Roughly 49 percent of respondents said they have nurse practitioners and/or physician assistants working in their practice.
15. CPT code distribution. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of responding hospitalists serving adult patients said they billed inpatient admissions at the highest (99223) level.
CPT copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.
Related Articles on Hospitalists:
9 Hospitalists Leave Pennsylvania's PinnacleHealth Over New Administrative Policy
Hospitalist Salaries Have Grown by More Than 8% From 2010
When Traditional May Be Best: Reducing Hospitals' Subsidies for Hospitalists