Retention Initiatives Rise as Physician Turnover Concerns Increase; Cejka Search and AMGA 2005 Physician Retention Survey Reveals Trends among Medical Groups.

ST. LOUIS -- Findings of a physician retention study issued today revealed turnover is a growing concern at medical groups nationwide, while targeted initiatives to retain doctors are on the rise. The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and Cejka Search, a nationally recognized physician and healthcare executive search organization, released the findings of the Cejka Search and AMGA 2005 Physician Retention Survey. For the second consecutive year, the survey examines recruitment and retention trends at AMGA-affiliated medical groups.

The survey revealed a significant increase in the number of medical groups that reported they are tracking turnover. Overall, 90% of the respondents said they monitor turnover, which is a 23% increase over last year. When segmented by practice size, all medical groups with more than 500 physicians said they track turnover, as do 80% of the smallest groups - those with fewer than 50 physicians.

Nearly half (47%) of the respondents reported being highly concerned about turnover, and more than one-third (36%) placed turnover among the top three critical issues facing their group practice. To address these concerns, 58% of the groups stated they have designated retention initiatives compared with 48% in 2004, an increase of 21%; 41% reported having written materials that are used for retention compared with 27% in 2004.

"This survey highlights medical groups' growing concern about turnover. It also shows how this concern is being translated into action, with more groups reporting they are formalizing their retention efforts," said Carol Westfall, president of Cejka Search.

Joseph Scopelliti, M.D., president of the AMGA member group, The Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, PA, feels turnover is one of the most important issues facing group practices. "In today's competitive healthcare marketplace, all eyes are on turnover and retention. Retaining quality and highly motivated physicians will increasingly become a benchmark measure of truly outstanding medical group practices."

"The survey revealed that many groups are being proactive in response to the looming physician shortage," said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., AMGA's president and chief executive officer. "They are finding systematic and creative ways to attract and retain the best physicians to serve their patient populations."

Other Key Findings

Average annual turnover was 6.4% for all medical groups responding to the survey - 5.2% for medical groups with more than 500 physicians and 6.9% for those with less than 500 physicians. In addition, most respondents believe that during the next two years the national rate of physician turnover will greatly outpace that of their own practice. Sixty percent (60%) said the national turnover rate will increase, but only 20% said their own practices' turnover rate will grow.

Physicians are most vulnerable in the early years. The survey found that, among the physicians leaving a group, 47% left in the first three years and 60% left in the first five years.

A number of the survey findings revealed directional trends that highlight differences in how groups approach recruitment and retention based on their size and resources.

--Groups with more than 500 physicians reported less concern about turnover and assign a lower priority to turnover on their list of critical issues. But at the same time, they reported more concern about recruitment, are more heavily focused on interviewing techniques and employ a diversity of resources in recruitment.

--By contrast, smaller groups emphasized retention efforts centered on communication and engagement with leadership, flexibility in work arrangements, and earlier advancement into partnership and profit-sharing arrangements, which are also important to retention.

--Building a positive environment for physicians begins when a physician signs with a group practice. More than eight of ten (81%) of all groups begin retention efforts between signing and starting date.

The study showed that groups have introduced innovative techniques to counter turnover. The most frequently mentioned initiatives are expanded mentor programs and orientation programs. According to the groups, another effective technique is to recruit physicians prior to the actual need, so when an opening becomes available a potential candidate is targeted. Other groups offer flexible work hours, deferred compensation plans, loan repayment bonuses and other benefits.

"Retention starts with recruitment," Westfall added. "Clearly understanding your group's culture and pursuing the candidate who fits, can ensure a longer, more productive relationship and can help to sustain an environment that attracts new candidates to support the growth of your practice over the long term."

"Taken together, the findings and directional trends in the survey may tell us that devoting additional resources to formalized retention programs and focusing on cultural and behavioral issues during recruitment can be effective in lowering turnover," said Westfall.

Fisher said, "It is our hope that this survey will enable medical groups to develop tools and strategies to increase their ability to attract and retain the best healthcare professionals, which is crucial to the health of their patients and their practices."

Methodology

The Cejka Search and AMGA 2005 Physician Retention Survey was distributed in September 2005 to 275 AMGA member medical groups. All survey respondents (95 medical groups) were compiled for this survey (a 35% response rate). The turnover rate was calculated based on the number of physicians leaving divided by the highest number of physicians present, over the same 12-month period.

To obtain a copy of the Cejka Search and AMGA 2005 Physician Retention Survey, please visit www.cejkasearch.com.

About American Medical Group Association

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver healthcare to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. For more information, visit www.amga.org.

About Cejka Search

Cejka Search is a nationally recognized executive and physician search organization providing services exclusively to the healthcare industry for 25 years. Partnering with organizations in pursuit of the nation's best healthcare talent, Cejka Search completes assignments across all levels of the healthcare continuum. Cejka Search is a Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (Nasdaq: CCRN) company, a leading provider of healthcare staffing services in the United States.

For more information, contact Tom Geiser (Kupper Parker Communications), 314-290-2156 or Mary Scholz Barber (Cejka Search), 314-726-1603.