MDs Working for Insurance Companies?

[prominence]

in an earlier post, i read that insurance companies need physicians to serve as medical directors. what are some of the responsibilities of doctors in the medical director capacity?

besides medical director, in what other capacities are physicians employed in at insurance companies?

what kind of doctors are insurance companies seeking? (i.e. internal medicine, anesthesiologists, etc)

do they seek doctors fresh out of medical school, residency, or with several years experience?

do doctors need to acquire further skills via business classes, or is there a training program provided for these doctors at insurance companies?

do physicians' salaries at insurance companies compare favorably to what these physicians would make in the traditional route (i.e. work in a hospital or in practice)?

i would appreciate any information that anyone who is familiar with MDs working at insurance companies could provide. thank you.

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[lynnj]

Usually insurance companies hire physicians that have practiced a few years. At the insurance company where I work, they hire doctors to handle appeals and to determine if a medical procedure should be approved by the insurance company. I am the mom of a medical student.

 

[prominence]

bump

 

[smackdaddy]

prominence, i think you will find that most jobs would prefer to have people with at least a few years of practical experience outside of residency, not even just residency.

and their are plenty of disgruntled physicians or people who had some illness which prevent them from working, or got sued so much they can't practice. the competition for these spots is keen.

plus for insurance work, does your wife really want to make these decisions without any clinical experience. i mean, these are surgery yes or no, cancer treatments yes or no decisions. when you see people crying because the insurance company refused the cancer treatment for their family, guess who made the decision and who will be justifying it in court, if it comes to that?

for pharmaceuticals, i recently discussed getting funding for a study i wanted to do with their medical director. he was a dentist. so the pool of applicants extends outside of what you might immediately think of as candidates.

ymmv
good luck