The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume
-
J Bone Joint Surg Am · Sep 2006
Multicenter StudyPhysician incentives for academic productivity. An analysis of orthopaedic department compensation strategies.
Changes in the health-care industry have led to increasing demand for physician-driven clinical volume. This environment has altered the traditional balance among teaching, research, and service responsibilities for faculty in residency training programs. As economic pressures mount and budgets shrink, academic departments are exploring ways of paying faculty that would help to maintain the global mission of the organization. The purpose of this study was to examine the compensation strategy for faculty in academic orthopaedic surgery departments in the United States with a focus on compensation methods for academic productivity. ⋯ Most, but not all, departments accounted for academic productivity in their compensation system. Most programs used the chair's discretion to determine academic bonuses, but several departments had developed point systems. There are common themes with regard to this issue, including the importance of the academic mission, the need for clinical revenues, the value of flexibility and transparency, and the importance of culture and leadership.