Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., the average compensation for doctors was rising, according to Medscape’s annual report (login required) on physician compensation.
As Medscape acknowledges, its data was collected before Feb. 10, 2020, so its report also includes preliminary information on the impact COVID-19 is having on physician salaries.
Medscape, which surveyed 17,461 physicians to create its 2020 report, found a yearly pay increase of 2.5% for primary care physicians (from $237,000 to $243,000) and 1.5% for specialists (from $341,000 to $346,000).
The report’s numbers are significantly higher than those provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2019. BLS gave a median wage of $208,000 for all physicians and average annual wages of roughly $213,270 for family physicians and $252,040 for surgeons.
Below are a few of the report’s highlights.
COVID-19’s impacts on physician income
Sharing information from news stories and other reports released by organizations such as MGMA, Medscape’s report notes that many physicians have seen significant financial fallout as a result of COVID-19:
- Practices reported an average 55% decrease in revenue and a 60% drop in patient volume on average since the beginning of the crisis.
- Nine percent of independent practices reported closing their practices, at least temporarily.
- Remote patient care engagement rose by 225%.
- In March alone, 43,000 health care workers were laid off.
It goes on to say that specialties that rely on elective procedures saw the largest amount of lost business. Some of those specialties include: orthopedics, plastic surgery, dermatology, cardiology, and ophthalmology.
Highest-earning specialties
While it’s unknown what the long-term effects of COVID-19 will be on physician compensation, an expert The DO recently spoke with speculates that in the future, physicians’ pay will be primarily based on productivity.
Physicians in these 10 specialties reported the highest average annual compensation.
Top 10 average annual physician salaries
| Ranking | Specialty | Average annual compensation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orthopedics | $511,000 |
| 2 | Plastic surgery | $479,000 |
| 3 | Otolaryngology | $455,000 |
| 4 | Cardiology | $438,000 |
| 5 | Radiology | $427,000 |
| 6 | Gastroenterology | $419,000 |
| 7 | Urology | $417,000 |
| 8 | Dermatology | $411,000 |
| 9 | Anesthesiology | $398,000 |
| 10 | Ophthalmology | $378,000 |
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2020
Hours spent on paperwork
The report also ranked the specialties by hours spent per week on paperwork and administration.
Specialties that spend the most amount of time on paperwork and administration
| Ranking | Specialty | Hours spent per week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Critical care | 19.1 |
| 2 | Internal medicine | 18.5 |
| 3 | Infectious diseases | 18.5 |
| 4 | Physical medicine & rehabilitation | 18.3 |
| 5 | Neurology | 16.9 |
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2020
Specialties that spend the least amount of time on paperwork and administration
| Ranking | Specialty | Hours spent per week |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Ophthalmology | 9.8 |
| 25 | Anesthesiology | 10.0 |
| 24 | Radiology | 12.3 |
| 23 | Allergy & immunology | 12.7 |
| 22 | Emergency medicine | 12.8 |
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2020
If you could do it all over, would you?
The survey asked physicians if they would choose their specialty again if given the opportunity. Internal medicine finished last with 66% of physicians saying they would, but that’s a significant jump from 2015, when just 45% of all physicians surveyed said they would choose their own specialty again.
These 10 specialties saw the highest and lowest percentages of respondents who would choose their current specialty again:
Specialties physicians are more likely to choose again
| Ranking | Specialty | Percentage who would choose this again |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orthopedics | 97% |
| 2 | Oncology | 96% |
| 3 | Ophthalmology | 95% |
| 4 | Dermatology | 95% |
| 5 | Plastic surgery | 94% |
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2020
Specialties physicians are less likely to choose again
| Ranking | Specialty | Percentage who would choose this again |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Internal medicine | 66% |
| 2 | Nephrology | 69% |
| 3 | Family medicine | 70% |
| 4 | Pulmonary medicine | 75% |
| 5 | OB-GYN | 76% |
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2020
Get more information from the full report at Medscape, including details about methodology.
1 comment
Sad news for primary care, when demand for PCPs is so high. I regularly receive job postings for FM with salaries in the 300-400K range. So please don’t be discouraged students. You can care for the whole patient and still maintain a comfortable lifestyle. We are far from the destitution so many of our patients experience.