Pinning down percentages

Q. I'm the medical director of a newly formed emergency clinic, and the board is looking for a formula for my pay. What percentage of production would you recommend?

"You'd receive the same percentage of production as any doctor—18 percent to 23 percent," says Veterinary Economics Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman, CVPM, owner of VMC Inc. in Evergreen, Colo. "As medical director, you may be entitled to a percentage of the gross, too. Three percent to 4 percent of gross should be paid to management. And depending on what other managers are in the practice and what your job description is, you may be entitled to some or all of this percentage. You might also want to negotiate a guaranteed base salary."

Mark Opperman