Transform physician compensation and achieve clinical growth
Learn how we worked with a large cancer center to increase wRVU productivity, establish minimum work effort standards, and support clinical expansion and accountability
As academic medical centers navigate mounting pressure to expand clinical capacity, strengthen accountability, and remain competitive in a tightening talent market, many are finding that outdated or inconsistent compensation structures can hinder progress.
In 2024, a leading cancer center with $2 billion in system revenue confronted these challenges firsthand—struggling with unclear productivity expectations, inconsistent academic work standards, and difficulty recruiting and retaining top physician talent.
This case study highlights how a comprehensive compensation redesign, built on market-informed insights and aligned clinical and academic expectations, helped transform performance, foster stronger physician–administration alignment, and position the organization for sustained clinical growth.
See how you can unlock the full potential of your physician workforce!
CHALLENGES
- Unclear and inconsistent methodologies around physician compensation, productivity expectations, and
- Difficulty recruiting top talent and retaining legacy physician faculty
- Balancing generous base salary levels with realistic productivity incentives to drive clinical growth
- Consistent and transparent accountability for organization funded academic time
- Need for clinical expansion while maintaining equitable expectations across different physician tracks
APPROACH
- Conducted leadership interviews and focus groups to understand pain points and build consensus on objectives
- Performed market assessment to evaluate total cash compensation and productivity alignment, survey data usage, and areas of risk
- Assessed clinical and academic work effort expectations and provided market comparative insights
- Established standardized annual hours expectations; documented approved activities for all nonclinical time for each physician track
- Designed an incentive structure to encourage increased productivity and improved patient outcomes
- Provided fair market value and commercial reasonableness opinions to support the proposed compensation plan and the Center’s legal processes
OUTCOMES
- Culture Shift: Created a more aligned partnership between administrative and physician leadership with respect to organizational goals
- Clinical Expansion: Developed a more robust clinical physician pathway to compliment the existing academic tracks; established related production standards
- Enhanced Accountability: Developed concrete minimum work standards related to all clinical and non-clinical time
- Improved Governance: Established greater oversight of physician compensation programs and related work effort aligned with regulatory standards
Unlock the full potential of your physician workforce!
Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) operate within some of the most complex environments in health care, balancing their tripartite missions of education, research, and patient care while navigating unprecedented pressures on their physician workforce.
As they work to redesign care delivery and optimize limited resources, AMCs must thoughtfully structure, support, and engage physicians by aligning roles, incentives, and expectations across the academic enterprise.
Drawing on deep experience with leading AMCs and access to real-time market intelligence, SullivanCotter delivers specialized insights and data-driven strategies that help organizations strengthen physician performance, enhance collaboration with care teams, and advance their mission.
