Hospital-Based Physicians: Current Issues and Descriptive Evidence

Hospital-based physicians (HBPs) have been the recipients of considerable attention in health policy debates in recent years. This paper discusses issues and trends concerning HBPs and presents evidence on practice characteristics, compensation methods, and incomes of anesthesiologists, pathologists, and radiologists. Some comparisons with office-based MDs are included. The primary data source is composed of physician surveys sponsored by the Health Care Financing Administration and conducted by the National Opinion Research Center in 1977 and 1978. Findings generated from these surveys support past research showing that radiology is the most lucrative HBP specialty, followed by pathology and anesthesiology; hospital-based practice tends to be considerably more lucrative than office-based practice, taken as a whole. Survey findings are discussed in light of current policy developments in the health services sector.