How Well Do Physicians Pay Their Staff?

"Insights From the 2015 Staff Salary Report
This year marked the second Medscape report on staff pay, benefits, and raises. The first was published in 2013. Both were based on surveys of physicians across 25 specialties, who answered questions on how much they pay their staff, what benefits and raises they give, and what positions will be added and cut in the coming year.

Included were clinical staff (nurse practitioners, registered nurses [RNs], physician assistants, medical assistants) and nonclinical staff (front desk, medical billers, medical coders, medical biller/coders, and medical records clerks). This year, the survey added coders to nonclinical staff members to help determine any effect from implementation of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

Physician-led practices report employing an average of three to five full- or part-time nonclinical staff members and five to seven clinical staff, with medical assistants (five full-time and two part-time) and registered nurses (four and two, respectively) employed in the greatest numbers across practices.

Salaries
As expected, most clinical staff members (nurses and medical and physician assistants) are more highly paid than nonclinical staff. Nurse practitioners receive $87,000 in compensation, followed closely at $85,000 for physician assistants. Registered nurses are third at $52,000. Medical assistant compensation is the lowest ($30,000).

Nurse Practitioners
Twenty-seven percent of practices had full-time nurse practitioners on staff, down from 31% in 2013. About the same percentage of practices (30%) intend to hire nurse practitioners this year. Only 8% of respondents plan to cut nurse practitioner jobs this year.

Physician Assistants
The percentage of practices with full-time physician assistants rose only slightly, from 24% in 2013 to 26% this year. Nearly the same percentage (23%) is seeking to hire physician assistants in the coming year."

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