Physician executive recruits earn more than CEO recruits

Healthcare Financial Management, August, 1997

Physician executive recruits typically earn 12 percent more than CEO recruits, according to an analysis of compensation data from more than 370 healthcare executive placements in 1996 conducted by Witt/Kieffer, Ford, Hadelman & Lloyd, an executive search firm. Healthcare CEOs or presidents hired last year averaged $160,474 in base salary, with a 20 percent bonus potential, while physicians placed in administrative positions received an average base salary of $178,677, with a 21 percent bonus potential. And, for the first time, more physician executives than CEOs were recruited.

Other findings were as follows:

* Male executives continue to be hired at a rate of almost two-to-one over female executives.

* About 6 percent of newly hired healthcare executives are minorities.

* Annual base salaries for all healthcare CEOs ranged from $50,000 to $550,000, with bonuses of 10 to 35 percent.

* Healthcare executives overall received base salary pay hikes of 18.35 percent for new positions.

* Integrated delivery systems pay new executives $202,857, the highest average base salary of all healthcare organizations.

* New managed care executives receive on average $131,375 in base salary, with a 29.7 percent bonus potential.

* New MIS executives typically earned $112,925, with an average bonus potential of 13.4 percent.