How Are Orthopedic Surgeons Being Incentivized For Academic Productivity?
BY ARIELLA P. GOLOMB, MD, OCTOBER 16, 2006
In the wake of demands for increasing clinical volume, decreases in physician income and increasing malpractice costs, it is even more critical to incentivize physicians to perform academic activities that do not directly generate revenue (teaching, research and service) but are crucial to the healthcare community.
In the September 2006 issue of Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Sanford Emery, MD, MBA and Carolyn Gregory MBA, from Case Western Reserve and West Virginia University share an analysis of orthopedic department compensation strategies.
31 academic orthopedic surgery residency training programs affiliated with a school of medicine received electronic surveys and supplemental interviews were conducted at 8 institutions. 19 of these institutions reported a compensation system specific for academic work, which breaks down as follows:
Of the six point-system templates analyzed by the authors: all rewarded scholarly work (e.g. papers, grants, presentations, etc.), five noted services (e.g. committee work), four acknowledged citizenship (e.g. taking short notice call) and two included academic rank.
Percentage of a physician's total compensation that could be attributed to an academic productivity bonus ranged from 5-25%, with a mean of 12.9% and a median of 12.5%. Seven were given every year, six were not (five said depended on profitability of the department) and six did not answer the question.
Common themes found throughout the study included:
-The importance of the academic mission, an underlying value system of academic output as a group and contributions from all
-Clinical revenue is the primary driver- most academic bonuses were drawn from clinical collections, thus limiting academic bonus size
-Flexibility, Transparency, Fairness
-Homework done by the chairperson to gather information and data to measure academic productivity to inform decisions
-Culture and Leadership with strong internal motivation to pursue academics
From an industry perspective, it is important to understand the drivers of physician behavior and the demands on their time.
