The Medical Group Management Association has released a new survey that indicates practice administrators in small medical groups report slight increase in compensation, while those in larger groups say their compensation has gone down. According to the report, groups with seven to 25 full-time-equivalent (FTE) physicians reported median compensation of $120,486, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2010, while for groups of 26 or more FTE physicians, practice administrators reported a 2.8 percent decrease in median compensation.

 “Strategic practice administration is now more important than ever, and a commitment to life-long learning through professional affiliations and credential programs are especially valuable to the health of the practice and the health of the practice administrator’s career,” Susan Turney, M.D., president and CEO, said in a statement. “These professionals have access to up-to-date information and resources, as well as a network of peers to lean on to provide assistance and support in managing a practice.”

The survey, the Management Compensation Survey: 2012 Report Based on 2011 Data includes data on 7,907 managers in 1,306 medical practices.