Finance What physicians got paid in 2020 New Medscape report reveals the pandemic’s impact on physician compensation last year. Some specialties thrived while others saw significant drops. April 28, 2021Wednesday Rose Raymond Contact Rose Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Despite significant upheaval caused by COVID-19, physician pay in 2020 on average was similar to 2019, reported Medscape in its recently released physician compensation report (login required). The report found that 2020’s average physician pay for primary care physicians and specialists–$243,000 and $346,000, respectively–was only $1-2,000 off from 2019’s averages. An expert quoted in the article says this is likely because many physicians reduced their expenses, used the Paycheck Protection Program and provided more telemedicine last year. However, not all specialties were impacted equally, with some, such as plastic surgery and oncology, seeing significant income increases and others, such as pediatrics and otolaryngology, seeing a sharp drop. To create the report, Medscape surveyed over 17,900 physicians across 29-plus specialties between Oct. 6, 2020 and Feb. 11, 2021. The report also provides some information about how the practice of medicine is beginning to bounce back from the early days of the pandemic. While more than half of physicians say their patient volume is reduced from pre-pandemic levels, the majority of physicians are expecting their income to return to pre-COVID levels within the next few years. More than half of physicians whose hours were reduced last year have since seen them restored, while nearly one-third of primary care docs and roughly one-third of specialists who lost pay have since seen it restored. Below is the average reported physician compensation for 2020 by specialty. Please note that the incomes below come from self-reported survey results. Physicians’ average compensation for 2020 by specialty Specialty: Average compensation: Plastic surgery $526,000 Orthopedics/Orthopedic surgery $511,000 Cardiology $459,000 Urology $427,000 Otolaryngology $417,000 Radiology $413,000 Gastroenterology $406,000 Oncology $403,000 Dermatology $394,000 Ophthalmology $379,000 Anesthesiology $378,000 General surgery $373,000 Critical care $366,000 Emergency medicine $354,000 Pulmonary medicine $333,000 Pathology $316,000 OB-GYN/Women’s health $312,000 Nephrology $311,000 Physical medicine & rehabilitation $300,000 Neurology $290,000 Rheumatology $276,000 Psychiatry $275,000 Allergy & immunology $274,000 Internal medicine $248,000 Infectious diseases $245,000 Diabetes & endocrinology $245,000 Public health/Preventive medicine $237,000 Family medicine $236,000 Pediatrics $221,000 The chart below shows which specialties saw increases and drops in income last year, as well as which had static income. Physicians’ compensation change in 2020 by specialty Specialty: Compensation change: Plastic surgery +10% Oncology +7% Rheumatology | Cardiology +5% Diabetes & endocrinology +4% Neurology | Critical care | Psychiatry +3% General surgery | Urology | Public health & preventive medicine +2% Nephrology | OB-GYN/Women’s health +1% Family medicine | Ophthalmology | Orthopedics/Orthopedic surgery | Infectious diseases | Pathology 0% Emergency medicine | Internal medicine -1% Pulmonary medicine | Physical medicine & rehabilitation | Gastroenterology | Radiology -3% Dermatology -4% Pediatrics | Anesthesiology -5% Otolaryngology | Allergy & immunology -9% Related reading: What the pandemic could mean for physician compensation Buying a house in 2021: What doctors need to know More in Profession Funding available for osteopathically focused research projects Research funding is available to DO, MD, PhD and osteopathic medical student researchers conducting studies that address the tenets of osteopathic medicine and explore the profession’s patient-centered, empathic approach to care. CMS to provide Hurricane Helene public health emergency accelerated and advance payments to Medicare providers Payments will provide health care providers in affected areas with immediate access to necessary funds to continue delivering critical care. Previous articleIn Memoriam: April 28, 2021 Next articleA deceased DO's family is reunited with her mid-20th century business sign
Funding available for osteopathically focused research projects Research funding is available to DO, MD, PhD and osteopathic medical student researchers conducting studies that address the tenets of osteopathic medicine and explore the profession’s patient-centered, empathic approach to care.
CMS to provide Hurricane Helene public health emergency accelerated and advance payments to Medicare providers Payments will provide health care providers in affected areas with immediate access to necessary funds to continue delivering critical care.