Finally some good news for primary docs who wonder why all their hard work hasn't translated into more money. Their compensation appears to be on the rise, according to Modern Healthcare's annual physician compensation survey. It's still at the bottom of the pay scale for physicians overall, but salaries for internists were up 7 to 13 percent, depending on who's compiling the numbers. One theory is that the trend toward hospitalists, who are often internists, has increased competition for their services and pushed salaries up.
Overall, physician compensation was up about 4 percent. But general surgeons overall saw a paltry 1.8 percent increase, while urology compensation was pretty much flat. Orthopedics was at the top of the pay scale, with an average compensation of more than $400,000. The survey is a round-up from a variety of sources, including consulting firms, executive search firms, and specialty societies.
- for more information, see this Modern Healthcare article