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Sutter Health
Antioch, California

Physician Advisor, Care Progression, Sutter Delta Medical Center

Utilization ManagementIncludes weekendsNo nightsPart-Time

Listed compensation

$136k-$218k

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Weekend work is also flagged as required; confirm which days and how often.

Ask the employer about call expectations and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

We are so glad you are interested in joining Sutter Health!

Organization

SHSO-Sutter Health System Office-Bay

Position Overview

The Physician Advisor (PA) is a key member of the hospital's leadership team charged with meeting the organization's goals and objectives for ensuring the effective, efficient utilization of health care services.

The PA will develop expertise on matters regarding physician practice patterns, over- and under-utilization of resources, medical necessity, documentation best practices, level of care progression, denial management and compliance with governmental regulations and conditions of participation and commercial insurance contracts.

The PA is responsible for establishing, maintaining and strengthening the relationship with System Enterprise and the hospital to appropriately optimize the use of Sutter Health Internal Physician Advisor Services (IPAS).

The physician Advisor will work closely with the medical staff, including house staff, and all utilization management (UM) personnel, Care Management (CM) personnel to develop and implement methods and strategies to optimize the use of hospital services.

This includes care management processes that ensure patients are in the appropriate level of care with supporting documentation of regulatory compliance and accurate coding.

The Physician Advisor (PA) conducts clinical reviews on cases referred by UM/CM staff and or other healthcare professionals to meet regulatory requirements in accordance with the hospital objectives for assuring quality patient care and effective, efficient utilization of health care services.

The PA meets with care management, UM staff and health care team members and medical directors of third-party payers to discuss the needs of patient's and alternative levels of care.

The PA acts as consultant to and resource for attending physicians regarding their decisions relative to appropriateness of hospitalization, continued stay, and use of resources. The PA further acts as a resource for the medical staff regarding federal and state utilization and quality regulations.

Job Description

Education

Doctorate: Graduate of an accredited medical school

Certification & Licensure

  • MD-Doctor of Medicine OR DO-Doctor of Osteopathy
  • Unrestricted medical license in state of residence

Typical Experience

3 years of recent relevant experience.

Skills and Knowledge

  • Excellent interpersonal communication and negotiation skills.
  • A broad knowledge base of health care delivery and case management within a managed care environment.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of Utilization Review, levels of care, and observation status.

Some awareness of healthcare reimbursement systems: Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), Patient Processing Service (PPS), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (GR) Grouper (CMS) preferred.

Post-acute levels of care such as Home Health, Hospice, Advance Illness Management (AIM), and Palliative Care. Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), Long Term Acute Care (LTAC), B&C, Sub-acute, Acute rehab.

Proficient Knowledge of coding and DRG assignment process preferred.

Must be able to effectively communicate with, and promote cooperation and collaboration between individuals including patients/families/caretakers, physicians, nurses and other ancillary partners.

Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in interactions with physicians, payers, and patients and their families.

Demonstrates commitment to service excellence in all patient, family and employee interactions and in performing all job responsibilities.

  • Functions in a manner to promote quality patient care and assure a positive patient experience.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Must have excellent time management skills to develop organized work processes in a high-volume environment with rapidly changing priorities.
  • Intermediate computer skills.
  • Ability to promote teamwork and to effectively function in teams.

Ability to interact effectively with key internal and external constituents using collaboration, and customer service skills that promote excellence in the patient experience.

Job Shift

Days

Schedule: Part Time

Days of the Week

Monday - Friday

Weekend Requirements

As Needed

Benefits

Yes

Unions

No

Position Status: Exempt

Weekly Hours

20

Employee Status

Regular

Sutter Health is an equal opportunity employer EOE/M/F/Disability/Veterans.

Pay Range is $0.00 to $0.00 / annual salary. Exempt Salary Pay Range is $136,072.00 to $217,724.00 / annual salary.

The compensation range may vary based on the geographic location where the position is filled. Total compensation considers multiple factors, including, but not limited to a candidate’s experience, education, skills, licensure, certifications, departmental equity, training, and organizational needs. Base pay is only one component of Sutter Health’s comprehensive total rewards program. Eligible positions also include a comprehensive benefits package.

Key Responsibilities

The Physician Advisor manages utilization review, medical necessity, and care progression to ensure efficient healthcare service delivery. They act as a consultant to medical staff and collaborate with care management teams to optimize hospital resources and regulatory compliance.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Doctorate from an accredited medical school and possess an unrestricted MD or DO license. A minimum of 3 years of recent relevant experience in utilization review and managed care environments is required.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Documentation complianceClinical review

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Physician Advisor, Care Progression, Sutter Delta Medical Center at Sutter Health a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Physician roles — ranked against 20,799 active Physician roles listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no night shifts.

Utilization Management — Physician Career Context

Physician pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$177k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $160k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Utilization Management Jobs

1 matches · ranked by pay
#1

Physician Advisor

Ensemble Health Partners · Ohio

$198k-$297k

Work-life snapshot

median 5.1this job 6.4
Better work-life than 70% of Physician roles listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 20,799 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No nights
  • On-site
  • Includes weekends

Living in Antioch

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$538k≈ 4.0× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,851/mo≈ 25% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
42 min
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.