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Muna debunks ‘myth’ of high salaries of CHC physicians
Says recruitment also has hidden charges
Compared to U.S. mainland doctors, physicians at the Commonwealth Health Center are receiving considerably much less than their stateside counterparts, according to Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muña.
Data obtained from CHCC shows that physicians at the local hospital get between $100,000 and $250,000 per annum compared to U.S physicians who can get as much as $413,000 a year.
Broken down, CHC physicians’ salaries per annum are in the following ranges: internal medicine, up to $188,000; family medicine, up to $140,000; obstetrics and gynecology, up to $165,000; pediatricians, up to $172,000; emergency medicine with board certification, up to $235,000; emergency room and other specialty, up to $180,000; surgery, up to $194,000; anesthesia, up to $230,000; psychiatry, up to $189,000; and nephrology, up to $250,000.
In contrast, U.S. physicians for internal medicines get an average of $188,000; family medicine, up to $176,000; obstetrics and gynecology, up to $243,000; pediatricians, up to $181,000; emergency medicine, up to $272,000; surgery, up to $300,000; anesthesia, up to $338,000; psychiatry, up to $197,000; and nephrology, up to $242,000.
Hidden charges
Muña also said the high cost it takes to hire physicians includes hidden charges for recruitment.
One of the hidden costs, Muña said, is that the hospital loses revenue on the inpatient side if they don’t hire a physician at all. Another hidden charge is paying a recruiter to find a physician for the right job at the hospital.
“You can advertise a job vacancy, but sometimes the most effective recruitment is a head hunter, who has a database of people searching for the job,” she said.
According to Muña, it costs $20,000 to $30,000 per head for a recruiter.
“Those are the hidden charges, you lose revenue and the fact that you do pay to have an arm and a leg searching for a physician,” Muña said.
Another cost is when physicians hired from off island decide not to renew their contract, which means the hospital pays for their return to the U.S. mainland. That recently happened with one doctor, Muña said. The family totaled six and CHCC had to pay for the family to be sent back.
Salaries of physicians
The hospital increases a physician’s salary based on three measures or standards that they look at: (1) Can the hospital afford the salary increase? (2) Can the physician provide quality care? and (3) Will the hospital get a return on investment for retaining the physician?
As of now, salaries for CHC physicians are dependent on board certification, the number of years of experience they have, and number of patients they have served.
“When you look at the situation we have when hiring physicians, the idea to retain them. So if a physician is asking for a salary increase, of course, we have to think if we can afford it. If we can afford it then we try to think and negotiate the salary and also put in that, if we are going to get a return of the investment on the salary,” Muña said.
She said the salary issue takes into consideration the expense for a recruiter, trying to retain the physician, sending another physician home, and receiving another physician.
“I’d rather spend $15,000 on a physician who delivers quality care than go and find somebody who I don’t know,” she said.
Muna also noted that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has actually commended CHCC for doing a good job in screening its physicians.
“The regulations say that when CHCC hires a physician they have the responsibility of having a good character, good judgment, the competency and skill and those are the things we are required to do,” she said.
“It is worth it when you hire a physician and that when a patient enters CHCC’s care, they feel safe and comfortable. We have great physicians here at the hospital and the salary increase they have is because we have screened and have seen the way they have been working,” she added.
