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ACC calls for equity in cardiology compensation, opportunity
A new health policy statement on equity in cardiologist compensation and opportunity from the American College of Cardiology provides guiding principles for establishing appropriate compensation plans.
“With this policy statement, the ACC intends to provide a clear set of principles related to equity in compensation and opportunity in the professional cardiovascular workplace along with the associated underlying considerations,” Pamela S. Douglas, MD, the Ursula Geller Professor for Research in Cardiovascular Diseases at Duke University and chair of the writing committee, said in a press release. “The ACC has developed 17 principles for achieving equity in compensation and opportunity, beginning with the firm declaration that the college believes that cardiologist compensation should be equitable and fair for equivalent work.”
Some of the other principles include:
- Cardiologist compensation should be objectively determined by a modeled systems approach.
- Cardiologist compensation should be individualized to reflect performance, productivity and other prospectively determined factors.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should be designed to minimize unwarranted systemic differences based on subspecialty.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should value nonbillable work.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should offer flexibility to accommodate different job descriptions.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should incorporate leave policies.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should define activities and behaviors that will lead to increases or decreases in compensation.
- Salary history should not be considered in compensation plans.
- Starting compensation should be the same for everyone at a given rank or position within a subspecialty.
- Cardiologist compensation plans should be transparent in how individual compensation is calculated.
- Equity in cardiologist compensation ultimately depends on equal access to career opportunities.
- Cardiology leadership should be responsible for mitigating the effects of unconscious or implicit biases.
- Compensation matters should be systematically reviewed, with reference to national benchmarks.
“Compensation and opportunity equity are critical components of a fair and professional work environment,” Douglas said in the release. “No compensation plan can provide fairness unless there is also equal opportunity to maximize performance and advancement. The ACC believes that adherence to these principles will improve the performance and satisfaction of the cardiovascular workforce, enhance team-based care and ultimately benefit patient and population health.” – by Erik Swain
Disclosures: Douglas reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the statement for the other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.