Physician executive compensation rises 8%

Median compensation for physician executives grew an average of 8% between 2013 and 2016 to $350,000, according to the 10th biennial Physician Leadership Compensation Survey released today by Cejka Executive Search and the American Association for Physician Leadership. While fairly consistent with growth over the past seven years, this lags pre-recession two-year growth rates of 12% reported in 2007.

“Given healthcare reform and the continued attention on costs, including executive compensation, we don’t expect physician leader compensation to return to pre-recession growth rates anytime soon,” said Paul Esselman, Cejka’s senior executive VP and managing director. “However, there are emerging roles in response to the shift toward value-based care that provide physician leaders with significantly greater opportunities for earnings, as well as strategic input and organizational influence.”

The highest-paid physician executives on average earned $499,000 and served in emerging roles that include physician in chief, chief strategy officer, chief transformational officer, chief innovation officer and chief integration officer.

The greatest increase in C-suite compensation since 2013 was 18% for physicians in the chief information officer or chief medical information officer roles, which can be explained by the roles’ shift in focus ― from electronic medical records implementation to ensuring the usability of data to support preventative care at the individual provider level and risk-based accountable care at the enterprise-level.

“Clearly, there is perceived value in having a physician leader drive these initiatives and facilities are willing to compensate accordingly,” Esselman said.

Median compensation for C-suite physician leaders in 2016 compared to 2013 includes: