Merritt Hawkins released the 2017 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives, outlining trends for physician recruitment across the country.
Here are seven key takeaways from the report:
1. Solo practitioners may find their best opportunity for survival in concierge or direct pay practice models in the future. The Merritt Hawkins searches for solo practice settings dropped from 22 percent in 2001 to 1 percent in 2017, but 8.8 percent of physicians plan to practice in concierge or direct pay models within the next three years.
2. Most organizations are currently recruiting employed physicians. Merritt Hawkins predicts more than 90 percent of physicians accepting new positions today will be employees instead of independent practice owners or partners; this is up from 40 percent in 2001.
3. Physician recruitment challenges "become more intense" for healthcare organizations that don't offer physician employment contracts, according to the report.
4. Larger communities now experience physician shortage challenges that small and mid-sized communities traditionally faced. Merritt Hawkins reported around 55 percent of search assignments were for communities of 100,000 people or more in 2017. Urban areas are also beginning to offer higher physician salaries and loan forgiveness, which rural hospitals traditionally used to attract physicians.
5. The average salary for primary care physicians continues to increase, reaching $231,000 in 2017, especially as primary care physicians play an integral role in population health management and establishing patient-centered models of care.
6. Specialists also see their compensation rising, with specialties like neurology, orthopedic surgery and OB/GYN reporting salary increases based on a higher demand for their specialties. Orthopedic surgeon salary increased 11 percent from 2016 to 2017, reaching $597,000, while OB/GYN salary increased 3.3 percent and neurologist salary increased 7 percent.
7. Specialists are still high revenue generators for hospitals, and Merritt Hawkins expects salary increases to continue despite a focus on prevention and reducing medical testing.