Neurosurgeons who were in a single specialty practice receive more per day in average on-call compensation, according to a report from the Medical Group Management Association.

The Medical Group Management Association recently sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, saying that if the government does not rectify the current problems with the transition to HIPAA Version 5010 electronic transaction standards, physician practices may face "significant cash flow disruptions, operational difficulties…or even the prospect of closing their practices."

Currently, Medicare physician pay cuts of 27.4 percent will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012, unless Congress intervenes, and roughly 9 percent of medical groups would cease treating Medicare patients if the cuts went through, according to an American Medical News report.

Here are five points on spine and neurosurgeon compensation based on data from MGMA's Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data.

Hospital ownership of an orthopedic surgeon's practice could impact the physician's annual compensation, according to the Medical Group Management Association's "Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data."

More than 90 percent of physician group practices in a recent MGMA study said the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed HIPAA "accounting of disclosures" rule would be very or extremely burdensome to their practice and should be withdrawn, according to an MGMA news release.

Here are the average daily on-call compensation rates for physicians by medical specialty, according to MGMA's Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey 2010 Report, Based on 2009 Data.

More than 56 percent of primary care providers received some form of additional compensation for on-call coverage, according to the Medical Group Management Association's Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data.
Nearly half (49.43 percent) of non-surgical specialists reported no additional compensation for on-call coverage, while 72.46 percent of surgical specialists received additional compensation for their on-call services, according to the survey. The most common type of additional compensation for on-call coverage was a daily or annual stipend.

Most practices are frustrated with reporting requirements for Medicare's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative and unhappy with its guidances to improve outcomes, according to a release by the Medical Group Management Association.

Practice changes required to meet the "meaningful use" criteria of the federal government's electronic medical record incentive program would lead to significant decreases in physician productivity, according to data collected by the Medical Group Management Association.