Physician Career FAQ
Answers on physician credentialing, employment contracts, salary negotiation, non-competes, tail coverage, RVUs, and navigating the Ava Health provider directory.
About the Directory
What is the Ava Health Provider Directory?
The Ava Health Provider Directory is a free, searchable database of healthcare providers across the United States. It includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other healthcare professionals. All data is sourced from the NPI Registry maintained by CMS.
How many providers are in the directory?
The directory includes over 1.4 million healthcare providers across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists, and allied health professionals.
Is the directory free to use?
Yes. The provider directory at providers.avahealth.co is completely free to browse. You can search by state, city, specialty, and provider name without creating an account.
How often is the data updated?
Provider data is sourced from the NPPES NPI Registry and updated regularly. Individual provider pages are revalidated every 24 hours to reflect the latest available information.
NPI Numbers
What is an NPI number?
A National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique 10-digit identification number issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to healthcare providers. It is used in all administrative and financial healthcare transactions and is required for billing Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
How do I look up a provider's NPI number?
You can search for any provider's NPI number on our directory by searching their name, or use the official NPPES NPI Registry at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov.
Does every healthcare provider have an NPI?
All HIPAA-covered healthcare providers who transmit health information electronically are required to have an NPI. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, therapists, and other clinical professionals.
For Recruiters
How can I use the directory for recruiting?
The directory helps recruiters identify healthcare providers by specialty, location, and credential. For full recruiting features including contact reveals, SMS outreach, pipeline management, and CSV export, sign up for the Ava Health recruiting platform at app.avahealth.co.
What is Ava Health's recruiting platform?
Ava Health (app.avahealth.co) is a healthcare recruiting CRM that includes candidate search, contact reveals (email and phone), SMS texting, pipeline management, saved searches, and team collaboration tools. Plans start at $29/month after a free 7-day trial.
Can I text candidates through Ava Health?
Yes. The Ava Health recruiting platform includes built-in SMS texting with message templates, AI-powered suggestions, bulk sending, and a unified inbox. SMS is available as an add-on subscription.
Healthcare Specialties
What specialties are covered in the directory?
The directory covers 35+ medical specialties including Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Psychiatry, Neurology, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Orthopedic Surgery, and many more. Browse all specialties at providers.avahealth.co/specialties.
How do I find providers in a specific specialty?
Visit the Specialties page to browse all available specialties, or navigate directly to a state page and filter by specialty. Each specialty page shows providers across all 50 states with links to city-level listings.
Physician Credentialing
How long does physician credentialing take?
Initial payer credentialing typically takes 90 to 120 days, though complex cases can stretch to 6 months. Hospital privileging usually runs in parallel and can take 60 to 90 days. Applications submitted through CAQH ProView speed things up because most commercial payers pull directly from your CAQH profile instead of requiring separate paperwork.
What documents do I need for credentialing?
A complete credentialing file usually includes: current CV, medical school diploma, residency and fellowship certificates, board certification documents, state medical licenses (all states you hold them in), DEA registration, malpractice insurance declarations page, NPI confirmation, five years of malpractice claims history, immunization records, a current photo ID, and reference letters from three to five colleagues. Keep your CAQH ProView profile attested every 120 days to avoid delays.
What is CAQH ProView and do I need an account?
CAQH ProView is the industry-standard credentialing database used by 1,000+ health plans, hospitals, and healthcare organizations. It replaces filling out the same application repeatedly — you enter your information once and authorize payers to access it. Every practicing physician in the U.S. should maintain a current, attested CAQH profile. There is no cost for providers.
What happens if my credentialing is delayed?
Delayed credentialing means you cannot bill the delayed payer until approval comes through, which can mean months of lost revenue or retrospective claims. Some payers allow retroactive billing to the application submission date — negotiate this upfront. If you are starting a new position, ask your employer whether they offer a salary guarantee or loan during the credentialing period (many hospital-employed positions do).
Physician Contracts
What should I look for in a physician employment contract?
Key areas to scrutinize: base compensation and production bonus structure, call coverage requirements and pay, non-compete scope and geographic radius, tail coverage for malpractice, termination clauses (with and without cause), CME allowance, PTO, relocation and signing bonus repayment terms, and restrictive covenants on patient contact. Always have a healthcare attorney review before signing — a $2,000 to $4,000 legal review can save six figures later.
Are non-compete clauses enforceable for physicians?
It depends on the state. Non-competes are fully banned for physicians in California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, and heavily restricted in Minnesota, Indiana, Florida, and several others. Where enforceable, courts typically look at whether the scope (duration and geography) is reasonable — 1 to 2 years and a 10 to 25 mile radius from practice locations is standard. The FTC non-compete rule is in ongoing litigation, so check current state law before signing.
What is tail coverage and who pays for it?
Tail coverage (also called an extended reporting endorsement) is malpractice insurance for claims filed after you leave a position under a claims-made policy. It typically costs 150% to 300% of your annual premium as a one-time payment. Negotiate who pays — many hospital-employed contracts cover tail after 3 to 5 years of service, while private practice groups often require the departing physician to cover it. If you have an occurrence-based policy, no tail is needed.
What is an RVU and how does it affect my pay?
RVU (Relative Value Unit) is the CMS measurement of physician work. Most employed physicians have a base salary plus production bonus tied to wRVUs (work RVUs) above a threshold. Typical compensation is $50 to $75 per wRVU for primary care and $70 to $120+ for specialists, depending on specialty and region. Always confirm: the wRVU threshold, the conversion rate, whether ancillary revenue is included, and how collections are reconciled.
Salary Negotiation
How much room is there to negotiate physician salaries?
More than most physicians realize. Published base salaries are starting points. Typical negotiation levers include: signing bonus ($20K to $100K+), student loan repayment ($50K to $250K over 3 to 5 years), relocation allowance ($10K to $25K), CME budget ($5K to $10K/year), PTO (3 to 6 weeks), productivity bonus thresholds, call frequency, and protected admin time. Specialists in shortage specialties (psychiatry, OB/GYN, primary care in rural areas) have the most leverage.
What salary data should I reference during negotiation?
The gold standards are MGMA (Medical Group Management Association) compensation surveys, SullivanCotter benchmarks, and AMGA compensation data — all segment by specialty, region, and practice type. Medscape and Doximity publish free annual salary reports that are good starting points. For job-specific data, reference PracticeLink and the Merritt Hawkins Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives. Our 2026 healthcare salary guide breaks down state-by-state numbers.
Should I accept the first offer?
No. Take at least 48 to 72 hours to review any offer in writing. Common mistakes new physicians make: accepting verbal offers, not getting competing offers, underestimating the value of benefits (employer retirement match, health insurance, disability, life insurance often total $40K to $70K/year), and failing to negotiate non-salary items. Counter-offer in writing with specific requests tied to market data.
How is a recruiter paid, and does it affect my offer?
In-house recruiters are employees of the healthcare organization and paid via salary. Third-party contingency recruiters earn 20% to 30% of the physician's first-year compensation, paid by the employer — never by you. This does not reduce the offer to you, but the employer is paying a premium so the net cost of your hire is higher, which gives you leverage. Retained executive search fees are typically flat ($40K to $75K) and also paid by the employer.
For Job-Seeking Providers
When should I start my job search?
Residents and fellows should start looking 12 to 18 months before completion — most hospital-employed positions hire 12+ months out, and credentialing takes 90 to 120 days after signing. Practicing physicians considering a move should allow 6 to 9 months for the full process (search, interviews, site visits, offer negotiation, credentialing, tail coverage arrangements).
What is the difference between employed, independent contractor, and locum tenens?
Employed: W-2 position with benefits, predictable income, less autonomy. Independent contractor: 1099, you pay self-employment tax (15.3%) and handle your own benefits, more autonomy and deductions. Locum tenens: temporary assignments (days to months), usually 1099, highest hourly rate ($150 to $350+/hr depending on specialty), no benefits, and the agency typically covers malpractice and travel. Many physicians blend models — employed base plus locum moonlighting.
How do I verify a prospective employer?
Check the hospital's CMS Hospital Compare ratings, verify the group's financial health (especially for private practices), request references from current or recently departed physicians in the group, review Medicare billing patterns on the CMS Physician Compare or Data.CMS.gov, and check the NPPES NPI Registry for each physician who will be your partner. Red flags include high provider turnover, pending litigation, or reluctance to connect you with current staff.
Interstate Licensing & Compacts
What is the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)?
The IMLC is an expedited licensure pathway for physicians available in 40+ member states. Eligible physicians (US/Canadian medical school graduates, ACGME-trained, board-certified, no disciplinary history) can obtain a Letter of Qualification from their State of Principal License (SPL) and use it to fast-track licensure in any other IMLC state. Average IMLC turnaround is 4 to 7 weeks vs 12 to 22 weeks for the standard state-by-state path.
What is the Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC)?
The eNLC is a 41-state nursing compact that lets a nurse with one multi-state license practice in any other compact member state without separate endorsement applications. The license is tied to the nurse's primary state of residence (PSOR) — driver's license, voter registration, and tax filings determine which state qualifies as PSOR. Non-compact states like California, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Hawaii still require separate licensure.
Are non-IMLC states harder to license in?
Yes, generally. Non-IMLC states like New York, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts require the standard application process — typically 14 to 22 weeks for full physician licensure. New York is among the slowest because it routes through the Department of Education rather than a dedicated medical board, and requires Form 1, 2, 3, and 4 verifications sent directly from each source institution.
How long does FCVS profile completion take?
Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) initial profile completion typically takes 4 to 8 weeks. The bottleneck is usually medical school transcripts and residency training verification. Once your FCVS profile is complete, transmitting credentials to a new state takes 1 to 2 weeks vs 4 to 8 weeks for the state to coordinate verifications individually. We strongly recommend setting up FCVS during residency or fellowship.
What is the APRN Compact and why does it matter?
The APRN Compact is a separate compact from the eNLC, covering Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (NPs, CRNAs, CNMs, CNSs). As of 2026, only 4 states have implemented it (Delaware, North Dakota, Utah, Idaho). For nationwide telehealth practice, APRNs face a significantly higher licensure burden than RNs — typically requiring 5 to 10 separate state licenses to cover most major markets.
Healthcare Recruiting Strategy
What are common red flags in physician recruiting?
High provider turnover (especially recent departures), reluctance to connect you with current physicians, vague compensation language, non-compete clauses with unreasonable geographic radius (>30 miles for primary care, >50 for specialists), aggressive RVU thresholds that aren't backed by historical data from the role, and any reluctance to share the practice financials in private group / partnership track positions.
How do you find passive physician candidates?
Passive candidates respond differently from active job-seekers. Effective channels: (1) Referrals from current placements — single highest-quality source. (2) NPI Registry searches filtered by board certification + practice address + license issuance date (proxies for career stage). (3) Specialty society membership directories. (4) State medical board public license databases. (5) Targeted email outreach with concrete role specs (not generic pitches). The Ava Health provider directory is built on NPPES data refreshed nightly to support this.
What is the average time-to-fill for physician roles in 2026?
Time-to-fill varies dramatically by specialty. Primary care: 90 to 120 days. Hospital medicine: 75 to 100 days. Psychiatry / child psychiatry: 150 to 240 days (chronic shortage). Cardiology / GI: 100 to 140 days. Trauma surgery: 180 to 300 days. The biggest delays are credentialing (60 to 120 days post-signing) and state licensing for out-of-state hires. IMLC + FCVS coordination can compress the licensing portion significantly.
How important is signing bonus vs base salary?
For most physicians, base salary matters far more than signing bonus over the long run. A $50,000 signing bonus paid as a 2-year clawback works out to $25K/year — meaningful but small relative to a $20K/year base salary delta over a typical 5 to 10 year tenure. The exception: physicians with significant student loan balances ($300K+) where a signing bonus can directly retire debt. Always calculate the post-tax NPV over your expected tenure rather than focusing on the headline number.
Should I work with a healthcare recruiter or apply directly?
Both can work. Direct application gives you visibility into a single role and direct relationship with the hiring manager. A recruiter gives you visibility across many roles, market intelligence on comp ranges, and negotiation support. Importantly, candidate-side recruiting in healthcare is FREE — the employer pays the placement fee, not the physician. The catch: not all recruiters have your interests aligned. The best ones share market data openly, decline to push you into roles that don't fit, and stay in touch even if you don't take an offer.
Still have questions?
Contact us at info@avahealth.co or browse the blog for in-depth guides.