Ignoring the Telepsych aspect of this position (could be a pro or con depending on the person, and which doesn't appear at first glance to be pushing this $rate up or down much), it's interesting to note how similar many of these "typical" or "standard" employed outpatient positions (non-academic) end up being when you break things down and compare total packages, controlling for hours/call/vacation/CME/benefits, etc. This seems to be in stark contrast to the challenging task of comparing reasonable rates between a "typical" employed outpatient role and other varieties of clinical work. The wide varieties of positions and huge disparities in clinical need between even neighboring towns seems to skew the data that gets thrown around, making it hard to find accurate regional averages or expectations of what might be a "fair" offer for a certain role.
My colleagues and friends in the field (early career faculty, residents, fellows) have often mentioned getting mixed and confusing messages when going through this process, and I've definitely felt that way at times. On one hand, there seems to be this barrage of exciting, dramatic and diverse openings being advertised to recruit hard-to-fill positions all over the country. Examples you have likely seen - offers with massive sign on bonuses (sometimes with small print attached...), starting compensation "guarantees" well above the 90th percentile, escalating and almost desperate offers to recruit to remote or less "desirable" locations/settings, etc. And in reality, some have had successful experiences working in these highly recruited positions.
Certainly if your goals and career ideals line up with an underserved role or location, this recruitment barrage starts to look more interesting and more realistic. Example - you are in luck if you love inpatient work in a busy semi-rural psych hospital, and enjoy the diverse and exciting experiences when covering their ER every third weekend, and genuinely appreciate being available for your patients on regular weekday coverage calls so you can help them during the latest crisis. If that's you, great, what an opportunity - you get to take your pick from a vast array of very highly compensated roles that few seem to want.
I mention all this because it's the thought process and information-gathering process that came up for myself and for several of my close friends - the "average" or "fair" rate or salary is going to be significantly different not only between regions and cities, but also between types of positions in those areas. The details matter - break down the benefits, add it up as best you can, compare to other nearby openings that look similar. You'll see surveys out there with higher numbers than this, but this may or may not be relevant depending on where and what you want to do. Hope this helps someone. Wish this topic had been discussed a few years ago in residency...
