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ECG Management Consultants Releases Washington State Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Findings

Survey Offers Detailed Compensation, Production and Benefits Data; Malpractice Costs; and Work Standards

SEATTLE – Nov. 9, 2004 – ECG Management Consultants Inc., a national healthcare consulting firm, today announced the release of its fifth annual Washington State Provider Compensation, Production, and Benefits Survey.

ECG’s survey analyzes and reports information from more than 2,600 healthcare practitioners representing nearly 40 subspecialties in the state of Washington. The survey includes critical data such as compensation-to-production ratios, procedure code distributions, and specialty-specific benefit and malpractice comparisons. This information, coupled with ECG’s interpretation of market trends, enables survey participants to assess their performance relative to the competitive local market.

“ECG’s commitment to quality is reflected in the Washington survey,” said Mr. Richard H. Cooper, CEO, The Everett Clinic. “We have been a participant in the survey since its initiation in 2000 and rely on the complete and comprehensive information it provides to assess our competitiveness. I encourage all Washington groups to participate in the survey and believe other markets would benefit from working with ECG to customize a survey in their local market.”

General findings in the 2004 survey based on 2003 data indicate the following:

• A significant increase in net professional collections (approximately 6 percent) over the previous year’s survey.
• Substantial practice expense increases — most notably benefits expenses (13 percent higher) and malpractice expenses (35 percent higher).
• Primary care average compensation increase of 2.7 percent, which lags behind the local inflation rate and results in a decrease in real income for primary care physicians.
• Specialty physicians’ average compensation increase of approximately 5.5 percent, mostly driven by competition among healthcare entities for revenue-generating specialties.

“Physician operations and compensation systems need to reflect local market conditions and nuances in order to be effective,” said Mr. James W. Lord, senior manager, ECG. “Many surveys report good national data but few are able to capture the local economics. This information is critical for physicians and administrators who recruit nationally but operate locally. ECG developed its statewide survey in 2000 and now provides similar customized surveys for other states, subspecialty groups and healthcare systems. Our Washington survey is the most mature, built on an understanding of five years of data analysis and trends. Those groups that participate in the survey have a clear understanding of local issues and trends necessary to drive rational business decisions.”

ECG Survey Methodology

The surveys are developed in partnership with local healthcare leaders and ECG’s physician compensation and production experts. These experts go to extraordinary lengths to ensure data quality and validity. Raw survey data is reviewed by ECG’s experts who identify outliers for verification by the survey’s participants – if data cannot be validated it is removed. At the conclusion of this process, ECG converts the raw data into information. Washington’s 2004 report includes information on more than 2,600 healthcare providers in sample sizes that are typically 5 to 10 times larger than those available from other sources.

About ECG

ECG is a national firm that provides a broad range of management and information technology-related consulting services to healthcare providers. ECG is particularly known for specialized expertise regarding hospital and physician relationships, strategic and business planning, information technology, and the complexities of the academic healthcare enterprise. ECG has approximately 50 consultants with offices in Seattle; Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Diego. For more information, visit www.ecgmc.com.

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