Fee for hospital coverage

A: To determine the value of the call services, you should first define who might bill an inpatient for any care rendered. If you are to be able to bill and retain for your own services, the call stipend will be more modest than if the hospitalist program is the recipient of the revenues. Beyond that distinction, the pay for call should be commensurate with other pay schedules for call coverage at the hospital in other disciplines. If none exist, it should be in the range of what is paid to the full-time hospitalists discounted to the level of effort on a typical call shift and adjusted for simply your availability. Under any situation, you still should see your own patients, and they should understand clearly how they will be billed for the hospitalist service of which you are a participating provider.