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  • April 2021
  • Article
  • Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Today's Surgeon Compensation Models Fall Short: Aligning Incentives to Create More Equitable and Value-based Compensation Models

By: Susanna Gallani, Mary Witkowski, Lauren Haskins, Haley Jeffcoat, Vinita Mujumdar and Frank Opelka
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Abstract

Modern medicine is undergoing a transformation that involves innovative surgical approaches, increased medical treatment options, clinical care pathways that require collaboration beyond hospital walls, and health data captured by electronic health records and other digital sources. This transformation challenges the healthcare business model, including the physician compensation model, to evolve. Physician compensation has historically been directly linked to the revenue generated from services rendered to patients and is expressed in the volume of relative value units (RVUs). However, much of the work that surgeons perform is not captured by RVUs. This article examines the current state of surgeon compensation and explores concepts that would reform compensation for modern surgical practice.

Keywords

Physician Compensation; Surgeons; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Compensation and Benefits

Citation

Gallani, Susanna, Mary Witkowski, Lauren Haskins, Haley Jeffcoat, Vinita Mujumdar, and Frank Opelka. "Today's Surgeon Compensation Models Fall Short: Aligning Incentives to Create More Equitable and Value-based Compensation Models." Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons 106, no. 4 (April 2021): 33–39.
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About The Author

Susanna Gallani

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

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    Incentive Effects of Subjective Allocations of Rewards and Penalties

    By: Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani and Jee-Eun Shin
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    Incentive Contract Design and Employee-Initiated Innovation: Evidence from the Field

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More from the Authors
  • Conduit Incentives: Eliciting Cooperation from Workers Outside of Managers' Control By: Susanna Gallani
  • Incentive Effects of Subjective Allocations of Rewards and Penalties By: Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani and Jee-Eun Shin
  • Incentive Contract Design and Employee-Initiated Innovation: Evidence from the Field By: Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani and Jee-Eun Shin
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