Report: Primary care MD pay rose 3.9% in 2005

A study released by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) finds that primary care physicians' pay has increased 3.89 percent in 2005, while specialists saw a 6.61 percent increase in the last year. And in case you're wondering which specialties saw the most growth, anesthesiologists' compensation rose 10.3 percent to $359,699 and emergency medicine doctors' salaries were up 9.8 percent to $243,449.

The MGMA observes that primary care physicians' compensation is not in line with the amount of work they do. Their relatively low compensation increase won't do much to attract new doctors to the field. "We are growing more concerned that primary care has become an undesirable choice for new physicians. As residency slots in primary care go unfilled, practices are pressed to ensure that primary care physicians' compensation reflects the important work they do," noted MGMA president and CEO, William F. Jessee in a press release. Just yesterday, the American Academy of Family Physicians reported that five states will face a serious family physician shortage by the year 2020.

For more on physician compensation:
- see this press release
- check out the report from Modern Healthcare

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