Leadership role
Physician / Clinical Practitioner
Diagnoses and treats patients' illnesses and injuries as a licensed physician, dentist or other clinical practitioner.
Reporting and scope
Reports to the Medical Director / CMO or a clinical department chief. Authority covers the practitioner's own patients and clinical decisions.
Core responsibilities
- Examines, diagnoses and treats patients within the scope of licensure
- Documents care and meets billing and coding standards for Medicaid, Medicare and grants
- Meets productivity targets for visits or relative value units
- Supervises residents, nurse practitioners or physician assistants where required
- Takes part in quality review, peer review and credentialing
- May teach, conduct research or hold a part-time leadership role
How it differs
The Medical Director / CMO leads clinical oversight. Surgeon and Psychiatrist / Behavioral MD cover those specialties. CRNA / Advanced Practice Nurse covers nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists.
By organization size
Pay depends more on specialty and setting than on revenue. In community health centers physicians see a broad patient mix. In academic medical centers they combine clinical work with teaching.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Physician; Dentist; MD; Doctor; Medical Doctor; Pediatrician
See what this role pays
Median reported total compensation, nationally: $395,000. Based on 53,567 IRS Form 990 filings, fiscal years 2021–2025.
This median spans organizations of every budget size and sector, so it will not match a benchmark for one organization.
State pay pages for this role: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Benchmark pay for this role