As America's changing healthcare industry is beginning to reshape the nonphysician healthcare workforce, certain jobs are evaporating others are blooming, and salaries remain flat, according to results of the “2013 Staff Salary Survey” by practice management magazine Physicians Practice. The survey involved nearly 1,000 medical practices in fourth quarter 2012.
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Get Your Report Now!Meanwhile, staff salaries have remained flat or declined in most areas, with one important exception: nurse managers are earning 10 percent on average more than they were 2 years ago, even as their ranks swelled at practices by 25 percent during the same period.
As practices automate their billing processes with outside service providers and digitize their recordkeeping with electronic health records systems, they reported significant drops in their employment of medical billers, billing managers, and medical records clerks. Those positions declined by 25 percent, 23 percent, and 37 percent respectively since 2011.
"What's happening in American medical practices is clear," explained Bob Keaveney, editorial director of Physicians Practice. "As practices modernize, jobs of the past are disappearing."
However, new jobs are being created as healthcare providers become increasingly accountable to drive positive patient outcomes. More than one in five practices now employ care coordinators, professionals whose role is to help patients access diverse services needed to maintain their health, from nutrition counselors to social workers and more.
This is the first year that Physicians Practice survey asked about care coordinators, a position that had previously been almost unheard-of outside of large institutions or health insurance companies.
Another employment trend evident is when it comes to nonphysician healthcare providers, critical private practices are increasingly employing nurse practitioners over physician assistants, with employment of the latter declining by 26 percent in the last 2 years. However, that may be driven by labor shortages among PAs.
For more information, visit http://www.UBMMedicaUS.com.