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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018
| Contributor Information
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
The Medscape Physician Compensation Report is the most comprehensive and widely used physician salary survey in the United States for the eighth year in a row. Public health and preventive medicine (PH/PM) physicians who responded to this year's survey disclosed not only their compensation but also how many hours they work per week, how many minutes they spend with each patient, what they find most rewarding—and challenging—about their work, and more. (Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% due to rounding.)
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Survey respondents were asked to provide their annual compensation for patient care. For employed physicians, that includes salary, bonus, and profit-sharing contributions. For partners, it includes earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses before income tax. PH/PM physicians were around the very bottom of the list. Plastic surgeons, orthopedists, and cardiologists were among the top earners this year.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Unlike nearly all other physician groups, no difference in earnings was reported between employed and self-employed PH/PM physicians.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Because of the nature of their work, very few PH/PM physicians are now self-employed.[1]
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
As in nearly every physician group, the male PH/PM physicians Medscape surveyed reported higher earnings than did their female counterparts. Although women are more likely to work part-time, which would give them a lower average income, this report uses full-time salaries for compensation, so part-time work would not account for the difference.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Because nearly all PH/PM physicians are employed, little difference was seen here.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Percentages of part-time female and male physicians have varied somewhat over the years, with 22% of women and 12% of men reporting this year that they work less than 30 hours per week. Among PH/PM physicians, somewhat more women and men surveyed work part-time compared with the average of physicians of either gender.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
PH/PM physicians were asked about their benefits this year. The great majority said they receive paid time off and health insurance, followed by dental insurance. Nearly one tenth reported that they receive no benefits.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
In spite of their low earnings compared with nearly every other physician group, more than two thirds of PH/PM physicians surveyed believe that they are fairly compensated, placing them toward the top in satisfaction among all physicians. Indeed, specialists' satisfaction does not always coincide with their compensation relative to other physicians. For example, plastic surgeons were among the least satisfied with their compensation despite being among the highest paid.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
This year, the Medscape survey asked physicians who reported that they are not satisfied with their compensation how large an increase they feel they deserve. About three quarters of PH/PM physicians feel that they should be earning 11% to 50% more.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Over a third of PH/PM physicians reported that they are paid through an insurance carrier, with over a quarter saying they are reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis. About one fifth said they are paid through accountable care organizations (ACOs), which is one of the advanced alternative payment systems under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Almost one fifth were paid by the cash-only model.[2]
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
In this year's survey, few PH/PM physicians said they would drop insurers that pay poorly. Almost a third said that they would not do so because it would be inappropriate or that they need all payers.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Over half of PH/PM physicians do not participate in health insurance exchanges. A fair number, however, remain unsure about whether they will participate.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Anecdotally, physicians have complained about the effect of the Affordable Care Act on their incomes, but results from this year's survey suggest that only a small percentage of PH/PM physicians who participate in an exchange have experienced a decrease.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Healthcare continues to cause financial worry among Americans, but there is little guidance for physicians about how to discuss costs with their patients. Barriers include unfamiliarity with patients' insurance or financial status and even the cost of the treatments they recommend.[3] Even so, most PH/PM physicians reported that they occasionally or regularly have such discussions with their patients.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
In keeping with their profession that focuses on research, most PH/PM physicians reported that they spend less than 30 hours with patients, and less than a third spend 30-45 hours.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Bureaucratic tasks remain the primary cause of burnout among physicians, and 85% of PH/PM physicians reported this year that they spend 10 hours or more per week on paperwork and administration.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Getting promoted in a hospital, clinic, or large group setting typically adds administrative and/or management responsibilities to a physician's job. Such factors may play a role in only about one third of employed PH/PM physicians seeking promotion, according to this year's survey.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Unlike in most physician groups, among PH/PM physicians, more men than women reported this year that they are seeking promotion within their organization.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
PH/PM physicians most often named making the world a better place and being good at what they do. In keeping with a profession with a focus on research, very few cited relationships with patients as a rewarding part of their job.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Given the current upheaval in the healthcare system, it is no surprise that having so many rules and regulations was most often cited as the most challenging part of a PH/PM physician's job, followed by working long hours. Very few named concern over being sued.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
Although about two thirds of PH/PM physicians would choose medicine again, they were toward the bottom among physicians who said they would make the same choice.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
PH/PM physicians who would choose medicine again were also near the bottom among physicians who said they would choose their specialty again if given the opportunity to do so.
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physician Compensation Report 2018
Carol Peckham | April 18, 2018 | Contributor Information
More than 20,000 physicians told us how much they earn, how many hours they work, and whether they're satisfied with their compensation.Slideshows, April 2018
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Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.
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Contributor Information
Carol Peckham
Editorial Director
Art Science Code
Disclosure: Carol Peckham has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
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References + More on Methodology
References
Kane CK. Updated data on physician practice arrangements: physician ownership drops below 50 percent. American Medical Association. Policy Research Perspectives. 2017. Article. Accessed March 26, 2018.
Davis J. States move to enable direct primary care as a new approach to health care services. The Council of State Governments. January 25, 2018. Article. Accessed March 26, 2018.
Ganos G. Costs of care: getting the patient-provider conversation right. Culture of Health Blog. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. June 15, 2016. Article. Accessed March 26, 2018.
More on Methodology
Survey invitations were emailed to Medscape member physicians from November 21, 2017 to February 21, 2018. Respondents were invited to participate in an online study of "Physician Compensation and Net Worth." Members who completed the survey were entered into a sweepstakes that awarded 50 random winners a $150 Amazon.com gift card.
Respondents were required to be physicians currently practicing in the United States. The total sample size was 20,329. The overall margin of sampling error for this survey was ± 0.69% at a 95% confidence level using a point estimate of 50%. Statistical difference from 50% is the most conservative in measuring sample error.
Other factors may also contribute to error in survey estimates, including measurement error, construct and content validity, question wording, and question order. Standard quality-control measures included checking for clear question wording, proper question ordering, and use of appropriate scales and response categories. In addition, during the field period, the survey was checked to make certain that respondents were answering all questions logically and that skip-pattern programming was working properly.
The final data were cleaned to ensure data quality. Full-time respondents were weighted to reflect the American Medical Association's physician distribution by specialty, state, and gender.
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