How do Doctor's get paid?

[Lola77]

I am a nurse on a busy neuro/med-surg floor and we have a zillion doctors coming and going ordering a zillion different tests and I was wondering how they get paid. Does anyone know? Do consulted doctors get paid per consult or per test? Do admitting doctors get paid per patient or per test or both? I was just wondering because sometimes I really don't understand why tests are done and also sometimes multiple doctors will order the same tests even though the results are on the chart AND in the computer - it's like they don't even look or talk to the patient (or the nurse HAHAHAHAHAHA I can't imagine most doctors asking the nurse anything) and just order a butt load of tests automatically.

I am just curious - are hospitalists salaried? Is it a commission thing? I have no idea!

Also does anyone know how much the common tests cost per person? Like, how much does a MRI brain w/wo contrast cost? (on average) or an U/S carotids or an Echo or basic chest x-ray? what about labs? How much do these daily CBCs and CMPs cost?

Just wondering. . .thank you for any info :)

[TruNurse86]

As far as I can tell, they get paid based on how rude they are to the nurses. The rudest doctors get paid the most.

PRICELESS!

[core0]

I doubt this nurse has any control over how her employer chooses for orders to be entered, therefore, why does she deserve "what she gets"? Or did I misunderstand you and you weren't mildly going off on her? Seems that the doctors ought to be the ones doing the computerized order entry. And they should be checking to see what has already been ordered, done, not ordered or done. And it should not fall on the nurse to tell the ordering doctors that some test has already been performed. Nurses are way too busy for all that playing secretary or housemother any more.

In our hospital we have computerized order entry. All of the orders have to be put in by the provider. So if you go to put in another CBC it will give alert that one was ordered x hours ago (giving someone a hint to look at the CBC). You can choose to override it but it still gives you the alert. The only way that anyone can put in an order is if they document it as a verbal order and the ordering provider has to state that they are not near a computer. Its was tough on the older physicians, but now that I'm used to it I can't imagine anything else. Its put a stop to the RNs or clerks getting blamed for the wrong tests.

David Carpenter, PA-C

[cheltoe]

Where I work Hosptialsits are salary personnel. Consulting physicians bill insurance for the usual and customary fee rate. Chest x-ray PA and Lat with no reading $250.00 plus the cost of the Radiologist to 'read' and interpret the findings, basic labs CMP CBC will cost between $200.00 and $350.00

Echocardiograms run around $1000.00 and MRI's can run between $4000.00 to $5000.00.

All of these expenses while in the hospital are billed to insurance, unless the patient is private pay, the the total cost is the patient's responsibility.

This is what these cost where I work, other places may charge more or less.

Hope this helps.

When I worked in the lab in the late 90's the cost of a CBC was around $200, but if memory serves correctly, I think the actual cost to the lab was around $3-$5. When I found this out, I was amazed. I don't suppose this covers the workers in the lab, but I do know it takes less than 5 minutes to run.