Post job

Physician liaison vs family practitioner

The differences between physician liaisons and family practitioners 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 a family practitioner. Additionally, a physician liaison has an average salary of $210,572, which is higher than the $180,399 average annual salary of a family practitioner.

The top three skills for a physician liaison include patients, patient care and service line. The most important skills for a family practitioner are family medicine, patients, and family practice.

Physician liaison vs family practitioner overview

Physician LiaisonFamily Practitioner
Yearly salary$210,572$180,399
Hourly rate$101.24$86.73
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs64,48350,599
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

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 a family practitioner do?

Family practitioners are medical professionals who are responsible for providing care for an entire family in small and rural communities. By using their knowledge in the medical profession, these doctors are required to diagnose and treat a variety of medical issues while referring patients to an appropriate specialist if medical problems are outside their range of practice. They must participate in well-care visits with their patients to monitor the development of their health as well as perform routine tests such as cholesterol tests and blood pressure readings. Family practitioners must also help women give birth to a child.

Physician liaison vs family practitioner salary

Physician liaisons and family practitioners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Physician LiaisonFamily Practitioner
Average salary$210,572$180,399
Salary rangeBetween $106,000 And $417,000Between $90,000 And $359,000
Highest paying CityEau Claire, WIPhiladelphia, PA
Highest paying stateNorth DakotaFlorida
Best paying companyUTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMSPeaceHealth
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between physician liaison and family practitioner education

There are a few differences between a physician liaison and a family practitioner in terms of educational background:

Physician LiaisonFamily Practitioner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common majorBusinessMedicine
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaDuke University

Physician liaison vs family practitioner demographics

Here are the differences between physician liaisons' and family practitioners' demographics:

Physician LiaisonFamily Practitioner
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 26.2% Female, 73.8%Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between physician liaison and family practitioner 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.
  • Show more

Family practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Manage family health problems, examine patients, perform physical examination.
  • Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
  • Provide examination, testing, diagnosis, treatment, referral and follow- up care for newborn through geriatrics.
  • Provide residential care and emergency medical treatment to incapacitate elderly patients
  • Operate electrocardiogram equipment to administer diagnostic testing (EKG).
  • Ensure patient and family understanding of diagnosis treatment and all accompanying relevant information.
  • Show more

Physician liaison vs family practitioner skills

Common physician liaison skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Service Line, 6%
  • Business Development, 4%
  • CRM, 4%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%
Common family practitioner skills
  • Family Medicine, 32%
  • Patients, 25%
  • Family Practice, 12%
  • Internal Medicine, 8%
  • Urgent Care, 7%
  • Pediatrics, 6%

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs