MGMA: Physician salaries up from '08

While primary care physician salaries are still out of whack, salaries for both specialist and primary-care doctors coming out of residencies increased last year, according to a new survey by the Medical Group Management Association.

The study, which looked at data from 3,520 physicians, found that starting neurology salaries climbed the most, rising 15 percent from $200,000 to $230,000. Non-invasive cardiology salaries climbed 14.29 percent, from $350,000 to $400,000; anesthesiology salaries rose 13.64 percent, from $275,000 to $312,000; emergency medicine pay went from $192,000 to $215,040, a 12 percent increase; and internal medicine salaries rose 10 percent, from $150,000 to $165,000. Neurological surgeons saw the biggest starting salary, at $605,000.

While the internal medicine doctors may have gotten a bit of a break, family practice, geriatrics, pediatrics and internal medicine were still at the bottom of the salary pile. So despite all of the talk about empowering primary-care physicians to manage cases, few organizations are putting their money where their mouth is, yet.

To get more data from the study:
- read this Wall Street Journal blog item

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