SEATTLE, Nov. 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECG Management Consultants, Inc., one of the nation's premier healthcare management consulting firms, today announced the release of its twelfth annual Northwest Provider Compensation, Production, and Benefits Surveys.
ECG's Northwest surveys analyze and report information from over 4,362 healthcare providers representing 43 physician specialties and 6 advanced practice clinician (APC) specialties in the states of Washington and Oregon. The surveys contain critical data such as compensation-to-production ratios, including work and total relative value units (RVUs), CPT procedure code distributions, physician and APC benefit trends, and additional key data points, including provider work standards and specialty-specific provider data for recruiting, patient access, benefit package values, and malpractice. This information, coupled with ECG's interpretation of market trends, enables survey members to assess their performance relative to the competitive local market.
General findings in the 2011 surveys based on 2010 data are as follows:
- Compensation relative to work RVU production increased for Northwest physicians by 5.0 percent as a result of compensation gains of 1.7 percent on declining work RVU production of 2.8 percent.
- A majority of Northwest organizations plan to modify existing physician compensation plans to incorporate nonproduction-based components as a strategy to succeed under healthcare reform. Patient satisfaction and quality are the most common components being considered for revised compensation plans, reported by 41 and 35 percent of survey members.
- Retirement contributions increased from $13,351 to $15,897 per physician, while benefit costs overall fell to 17.5 percent of compensation as a result of increased compensation levels, even though actual costs continue to rise.
- Health system-employed groups continue to allocate significant funds into their physician entities of approximately $105,000 per physician per year, or 23 percent of collections.
- Of survey members responding, 98 percent employ APCs while 75 percent are also currently recruiting for additional providers. A majority of survey members (59 percent) indicated that their recruitment of APCs is driven by the physician shortage.
"ECG's Northwest surveys, now in their twelfth year, have become the most reliable source for physician performance benchmarks and trends in the Northwest," said Ms. Maria C. Hayduk, Senior Manager at ECG and head of its Custom Survey and Proprietary Research practice. "ECG is committed to continuing to grow and enhance our survey products for our members and our clients. In 2011, ECG introduced ECGVault, its online benchmarking portal made exclusively available to the 115 member organizations of the 2011 ECG provider compensation surveys, including members of our Northwest, Midwest, Southeast, and National Pediatric Subspecialty surveys."
"Uncertainty around the economy and healthcare reform are at the forefront of issues for physician organizations in the Northwest," stated Mr. Kevin M. Kennedy, Principal and leader of ECG's Healthcare – Northwest practice. "The changing strategic landscape means that provider compensation systems will need to evolve to reflect new imperatives around quality, value, and efficiency. Our surveys are the premier source of information organizations need for ensuring their physicians and other professionals stay motivated and aligned during this time of drastic change."
ECG Survey Methodology
The Provider Compensation, Production, and Benefits Surveys are developed in partnership with local healthcare leaders and ECG's physician compensation and production experts. These experts go to extraordinary lengths to ensure data quality and validity. Raw survey data is reviewed by ECG's survey analysts, who identify outliers for verification by the surveys' members; if data cannot be validated, it is removed. At the conclusion of this process, ECG converts the raw data into succinct, proprietary information.
About ECG Management Consultants, Inc.
ECG offers a broad range of strategic, financial, operational, and technology-related consulting services to healthcare providers. ECG provides specialized expertise in developing and implementing innovative and customized solutions that effectively address hospital/physician relationships, strategic and business planning, specialty program development, information technology, and the complexities of the academic healthcare enterprise. ECG has offices in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.ecgmc.com.
Contact: Ms. Kathryn A. Sweyer
ECG Management Consultants, Inc.
ksweyer@ecgmc.com
Telephone: 206-689-2200
Fax: 206-689-2209
www.ecgmc.com
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