Special Report: Salaries for physician office, hospital staff climb 5.6%

Why This Topic Matters

It helps readers place their own compensation in context and understand how job title, setting, and organizational structure relate to pay trends in this segment of the health care workforce.

Article Sections

1. Survey overview and respondent profile

   Introduces the annual salary survey, the general pay trend, and the characteristics of the respondent group. It also outlines the overall profile of the typical participant.

2. Highest and lowest earners

   Summarizes the top and bottom salary examples from the survey. It compares broad characteristics associated with those respondents.

3. Salaries show links to title of immediate supervisor

   Discusses how reported salary patterns vary by supervisory chain. It compares results across several job titles.

4. Many managerial positions represented

   Describes the mix of management and non-management respondents and notes broad differences in representation by gender. It also provides general salary comparisons by gender.

5. Northern California pays on the high end

   Reviews regional salary variation and identifies areas with higher and lower averages. It also notes that regional differences are not the only factor affecting pay.

6. Salary-boosting strategies vary

   Summarizes broad themes in how respondents reported improving compensation. It includes examples of workplace changes and professional development.

7. Billing managers do best in hospitals

   Provides a salary profile for billing managers and compares compensation by workplace and education. It includes broad respondent characteristics and salary extremes for that title.

8. Business office managers see salaries rise with education

   Reviews salary patterns for business office managers and compares earnings across education levels and work settings. It also summarizes typical responsibilities and respondent traits.

9. Certified coders often work in single-specialty groups

   Summarizes compensation patterns for certified coders, including typical workplace settings and broad respondent characteristics. It also compares salary patterns by organization type and education.

10. Coding managers can pull in the bucks if they work for lots of doctors

    Describes salary patterns for coding managers and compares pay by number of physicians, workplace type, and general background characteristics. It also includes examples of the highest and lowest earners in the group.

11. Office managers report directly to doctors

    Covers salary patterns for office managers and compares earnings by practice size and workplace setting. It also summarizes common respondent characteristics and salary extremes.

12. Practice administrators do well at ambulatory surgical centers

    Reviews compensation for practice administrators and compares results across work settings and practice size. It includes broad respondent traits and salary extremes for the title.

13. Average 2002 salaries by title

    Presents a summary table of average salaries across the major job titles included in the survey. It provides a quick comparison of the positions discussed in the article.