I don’t need to tell you that, more and more, allergists are choosing employment over private practice – a trend driven by shifting economic pressures, evolving health care models, and generational preferences among physicians. As I write this, we are still awaiting the MGMA 2024 data on allergy compensation and employment. But we know that at least two-thirds of allergists are now working in the employed model.
There are many reasons for this trend. The need to share increasingly onerous administrative burdens, and the desire for someone else to handle reimbursement headaches are right up there. But work/life balance is also a huge driver, especially for younger allergists, who tend to prioritize time with family and the ability to enjoy life experiences more than previous generations. Giant student debt makes predictable (if potentially lower) salaries feel safer. “Employed” models often come with more predictable hours and salaries and fewer on-call responsibilities, making them attractive to new graduates.
Though not a Gen Z or Millennial, I myself am an employed allergist. As an employed allergist, in addition to my salary, I receive excellent retirement benefits, dental and health insurance, and a CME allowance for dues, meetings, etc. I also get my vacation days, CME days and we are fortunate here to be offered a sabbatical.
The College understands that supporting employed allergists requires some shifts in the education and resources we provide, while of course maintaining all of the activities that are important to our members in private practice.
Two years ago, we put together an Employed Allergist Focus Group to advise on the most-needed services and support for this group of our members. Our Practice Management Committee (including several employed allergists) is in the process of putting together an Employed Allergist Toolkit – expected this summer – that will bring together many of the most relevant College resources for this group.
The toolkit will cover a range of topics and will curate relevant resources, from clinical tools to coding, RVU, FIT & new allergist interests, and other products and tools targeted to this group. It will also address topics like contracting, compensation, metrics for evaluating employed allergists and more. This work is in addition to that of our New Allergists Committee, which also targets information and programming to this key demographic group of our members.
Whether or not you are an employed, private or solo practitioner, you need someone fighting for you on fair reimbursement for allergy services. The College is fighting hard on all fronts – through our advocacy efforts; direct contact with payers; and tools to support you in getting paid. Nine of your leaders just returned from Capitol Hill in Washington DC, where we spent two days visiting Congressional offices to advocate for fair payment and other critical issues.
In addition, last week in this newsletter, you heard about our new Payer Education Campaign to halt AIT audits and denials. We are making great headway in getting payers to understand the realities of how we treat patients, but we have much more we’d like to do.
The College also strives to help both private and employed allergists with the constant headwinds around public misinformation, including fighting the current non-science-based information about vaccines that is contributing to the very serious measles outbreak in this country. We know that it makes your days extra challenging when you need to spend time and energy countering misinformation in your conversations with patients.
