Physician liaison vs attending physician

The differences between physician liaisons and attending physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a physician liaison and an attending physician. Additionally, a physician liaison has an average salary of $210,572, which is higher than the $200,702 average annual salary of an attending physician.

The top three skills for a physician liaison include patients, patient care and service line. The most important skills for an attending physician are patients, primary care, and surgery.

Physician liaison vs attending physician overview

	Physician Liaison	Attending Physician
Yearly salary	$210,572	$200,702
Hourly rate	$101.24	$96.49
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	64,483	53,195
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a physician liaison do?

A physician liaison specializes in helping medical facilities build positive relationships with physicians in a community. Typically working at the business development and sales offices, a physical liaison is responsible for meeting with physicians to introduce and promote the facility and its services, discuss referrals and patient care, and help physicians connect with surgeons and specialists for patient referral. Furthermore, a physician liaison must produce regular progress reports, coordinating with office managers while adhering to the facility's policies and regulations.

What does an attending physician do?

An Attending Physician typically supervises fellows, residents, medical students, and other practitioners. They are responsible for supervising each patient every day, reviewing treatment plans with residents, and supervising patient management documents.

Physician liaison vs attending physician salary

Physician liaisons and attending physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Physician Liaison	Attending Physician
Average salary	$210,572	$200,702
Salary range	Between $106,000 And $417,000	Between $125,000 And $321,000
Highest paying City	Eau Claire, WI	Miami, FL
Highest paying state	North Dakota	New Jersey
Best paying company	UTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS	Community Health Systems
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between physician liaison and attending physician education

There are a few differences between a physician liaison and an attending physician in terms of educational background:

	Physician Liaison	Attending Physician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Medicine
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Physician liaison vs attending physician demographics

Here are the differences between physician liaisons' and attending physicians' demographics:

	Physician Liaison	Attending Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between physician liaison and attending physician duties and responsibilities

Physician liaison example responsibilities.

Distribute Medicare and Medicaid numbers to billing department, manage care department and all other applicable areas.
Promote and market the following destination programs: therapeutic endoscopy, general surgery and surgical oncology.
Visit referring physician offices with radiation oncology practice information and promotional materials to build effective referral relationships.
Trouble shooting physician and nurse relate EHR issues during implementation.
Oversee the day to day marketing operations of small radiation oncology center.
Develop sales strategies for beta launch of internal EMR system to community-base physicians.

Attending physician example responsibilities.

Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Prepare patients for ultrasound guide injections and aspirations which includes draping patients, prepping medications and preparing sterile instruments.
Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

Physician liaison vs attending physician skills

Common physician liaison skills

Patients, 21%
Patient Care, 6%
Service Line, 6%
Business Development, 4%
CRM, 4%
Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

Common attending physician skills

Patients, 35%
Primary Care, 8%
Surgery, 5%
Internal Medicine, 5%
BLS, 4%
Rehabilitation, 3%

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Physician Liaison
Physician Liaison vs Attending Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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