News: Physician compensation rose significantly in 2018, AMGA study finds

The median overall physician compensation in 2018 increased 2.92%, compared to a 0.89% increase in 2017, according to an American Medical Group Association (AMGA) survey, HealthLeaders Media reported. Physician productivity increased 0.29%, compared to a 1.63% decrease in 2017.

“The 2019 survey shows that physician compensation in 2018 rebounded from a stagnant 2017. While productivity also increased, it did not increase enough to surpass the decline we saw in last year’s survey, meaning productivity still has not risen since 2016,” AMGA Consulting President Fred Horton, MHA, said in a prepared statement.

The survey data, which was collected from 272 medical groups that employ more than 117,000 providers, includes several key data points:

• Median compensation for primary care specialties rose 4.91% in 2018, compared to a 0.76% increase in 2017.
• Compensation for primary care physician assistants rose 2.50%.
• Compensation for primary care nurse practitioners rose 2.92%.
• Overall median compensation for other medical specialties increased 3.39%.
• Five of the highest specialties for mean compensation were:
  • Orthopedic surgery, $591,245
  • Gastroenterology, $527,998
  • General cardiology, $519,964
  • Diagnostic radiology (MD non-interventional) $482,599
  • Urology, $469,755
• Five of the lowest specialties for mean compensation were:
  • Urgent care, $283,787
  • Internal medicine hospitalists, $293,252
  • Neurology, $310,518
  • General obstetrics/gynecology, $340,388
  • Emergency medicine, $363,201
• Other than productivity, the top five components of determining compensation were patient satisfaction, clinical quality and outcomes, citizenship, patient access measures, and care coordination.

According to the survey, 93% of survey respondents said they relied on market salary date to set physician base salaries.

Editor’s note: To read HealthLeaders Media’s coverage on this story, click here. To read the full survey results, click here. To read about CDI salary ranges, read the 2018 CDI Salary Survey report.