ENTtoday
  • Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Audio
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Can Sharing ENT Performance Bonuses With Staff Pay Off?

by Kurt Ullman • June 1, 2013

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

As more and more of a practice’s income comes from payments related to meeting specific goals such as quality measures and patient satisfaction scores, the question of how to divide the money among members of the practice becomes an increasingly important consideration, especially in those areas where staff participation can impact the amount of bonus income the practice receives.

You Might Also Like

  • Pay for Performance: What’s Next?
  • Pay for Performance: Here to Stay-for the Time Being
  • A Pay Cut by Any Other Name Is Still a Pay Cut
  • Extending Credit to Patients Can Help Physicians Manage Those Who Can’t Pay
Explore This Issue
June 2013

With lower reimbursements and the spiraling costs of providing care, physicians may be tempted to keep much of this “new money” for themselves. Given the impact staff interactions can have a on how well the practice does, however, this may turn out to be penny wise but pound foolish.

“It is well established that staff have a tremendous impact on services provided by a doctor’s office,” said Mary Witt, senior vice president at The Camden Group, a health care management and consulting company based in El Segundo, Calif. “For example, patient satisfaction surveys have a number of questions that aren’t related to the physician. Activities like how well the phones are answered and the experience during signing in at the office are a result of staff behaviors.”

Employee Impact

Joe F. Smith, MD “These models now mean that physician reimbursement will be based on more than whether or not I treat a patient right. It will also hinge on staff and their interactions.”

—Joe F. Smith, MD

Studies of hospital employees have shown that unsatisfied health care employees negatively affect the quality of care. This, in turn, adversely impacts patient satisfaction and loyalty—a possible double financial whammy as both governmental and private payers roll out programs paying separate incentives for quality and satisfaction (J Health Care Mark. 1996:16;14-23).

“It has to be understood that no doctor can do their work without staff,” said David Hunter, MD, FACS, senior partner of Oklahoma City Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic in Oklahoma City. “You always have to think about ways to give employees a reason to be conscientious and stay on the job.”

The problem then becomes finding the best way to incentivize the staff to fulfill their part of the myriad new quality and patient satisfaction goals for which the practice is responsible. At the same time, practices still have to be able to keep the doors open and the doctors paid. Part of the confusion stems from the many ways bonuses and other incentives are being paid to the practice.

“The change to pay-for-performance doesn’t always mean new money is coming to the practice,” said Ron Seifert, vice president and health care consultant with the Hay Group in Philadelphia. “While some private payers may give bonuses for meeting certain goals, others may just not give a practice as much of a yearly increase as they do those who make their targets.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Practice Management Tagged With: patient satisfaction, practice management, salary, staffingIssue: June 2013

You Might Also Like:

  • Pay for Performance: What’s Next?
  • Pay for Performance: Here to Stay-for the Time Being
  • A Pay Cut by Any Other Name Is Still a Pay Cut
  • Extending Credit to Patients Can Help Physicians Manage Those Who Can’t Pay

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Is There a Crisis in the Otolaryngology Match?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Post-Tonsillectomy Taste Disorders Rare but Present
    • Study: Artificial Intelligence Can Help Predict Risk of Thyroid Cancer on Ultrasound
    • Nobel Awards for Otolaryngology Research
    • Visual Abstract Competition to Launch at 2020 Triological Society Sections Meeting
    • More Severe OSA Leads to Higher Blood Pressure in Patients with Resistant Hypertension
    • Link Between Hearing and Cognition Begins Earlier Than Once Thought

Polls

Will registry information and data science improve patient care?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2019 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.