The report, “Physician Contract Benchmarks Report for Call Coverage and Medical Direction Services,” found on-call pay represented 3.6 percent of California hospital expenses in 2008 and that trauma hospitals pay, on average, 30 percent more than non-trauma hospitals for on-call services.
Independent hospitals, as opposed to hospital affiliates of health system, were found to pay 19 percent less, on average, for on-call services.
On-call coverage, which was typically provided without payment as part of a physician’s medical staff privileges, is more commonly reimbursed by hospitals. Reimbursement ranged from $2,434 per day for trauma surgery to $121 per day for psychiatry, according to the report.
Physician expenses at California trauma hospitals have jumped 8 percent annually since 2001. In 2008, that was equivalent to $13 million in additional expenses for each hospital in the state, according to the report.
Read the Sacramento Business Journal’s report on payment for on-call services.
