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Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
The Medscape Physician Compensation Report is the most comprehensive and widely used physician salary survey in the United States. In this year's report, almost 20,000 physicians in more than 30 specialties responded to Medscape's salary survey. Anesthesiologists who responded provided salary information, hours worked, time spent seeing patients, and what they find most rewarding and challenging about their jobs. (Note: Label values on charts are rounded, but rankings and calculations are based on raw data to avoid rounding errors.)
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Survey respondents were asked to provide their 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 taxes. Only full-time salaries are reported.
Anesthesiologists are above the middle earners of all physician specialties. Anesthesiologist income is about the same as last year's average income of $386,000. As more baby boomers become senior citizens, certain specialties will experience more demand for medical services. "Those over age 65 make up 14% of our population, yet they are driving the vast majority of healthcare services and are accessing healthcare services in greater numbers," says Travis Singleton, senior vice president of Merritt Hawkins, a leading physician search/recruitment firm.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Male anesthesiologists earn 18% more than women. The gender gap in anesthesiologists salary is consistent with that of physicians overall, where men earn 25% more than women. According to responses to Medscape's physician compensation survey, about 77% of anesthesiologists are men.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Male anesthesiologists spent 6% more time seeing patients than did their female peers. This may be one of the factors contributing to the gender pay disparity. Physicians have also noted that gender discrimination is a likely factor.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Paperwork and administration is a growing burden for physicians in all specialties. Of physicians overall, 38% spent 10-19 hours per week on paperwork and administrative tasks, and 36% spent 20 hours or more. Anesthesiologists appear to have fewer of those burdens than other physicians; 51% were saddled with 10 or more hours per week of paperwork and administrative chores.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Caucasian/white anesthesiologists earned about the same as did Asian anesthesiologists. (There were too few anesthesiologist respondents from other races/ethnic groups to include them in this chart.)
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
As with most other specialties, self-employed anesthesiologists earn more than those who are employed. Income for both groups has been rising in general. Self-employed physicians tend to be older as a group than employed physicians and so have had more time to build up their practices, which may contribute to their higher income.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Anesthesiology practices use PAs and NPs less than do physicians overall, where 36% of practices use PAs and 50% of practices use NPs. The numbers of practicing PAs and NPs are projected to grow by 4.3% and 6.8%, respectively, from 2016 to 2030, while the number of physicians is projected to grow 1.1% in that timeframe.[1] (Note: Physicians were able to choose more than one response.)
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Our survey shows that 92% of anesthesiologists were either very satisfied or satisfied with their own job performance. "Doctors take great pride in what they do, even under difficult circumstances, and I would imagine that we all feel we do the best we can in spite of the challenges," says Carol Bernstein, MD, psychiatrist at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
The percentage of anesthesiologists in fee-for-service arrangements (45%) is somewhat greater than that of last year (39%). The percentage in ACOs (23%) is about the same as that of last year (26%).
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Although Medicare reimbursement is lower than that of many private insurers, the majority of anesthesiologists are not planning to cut back on these patients. In 2016, over 56 million people were enrolled in the Medicare program—most because of their age, while the others were Medicare beneficiaries due to various disabilities.[2]
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Among all specialists, 37% expect to participate in MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) and 9% plan to participate in APMs (alternative payment models). Somewhat more primary care physicians expect to participate in MIPS (42%) and APMs (12%).
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Anesthesiologists' attitudes toward their compensation have varied little since our 2014 report. At that time, 54% of anesthesiologists said that they were satisfied with their compensation.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
For anesthesiologists (29%), as for physicians overall (26%), having so many rules and regulations is the most challenging part of their job. Anesthesiologists found having to work long hours more challenging than did physicians overall (14%).
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Anesthesiologists (27%) found being very good at what they do to be the most rewarding part of their jobs. A quarter of anesthesiologists said making good money at a job they like is the top reward. Physicians overall (29%) cited gratitude from and relationships with patients as the most rewarding factor.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Of the physicians who said they would choose medicine again, 79% said they would choose the same specialty. A somewhat higher percentage of anesthesiologists noted that they would remain in their chosen specialty.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information
Hospitals are the most common worksites for anesthesiologists. According to American Medical Association data,[3] the single-specialty group is the most common practice type among all physicians, with 42.8% of physicians working in these settings in 2016. The multispecialty group is the second most popular form of practice setting, comprising 24.6% of physicians.
Almost 20,000 physicians in over 30 specialties told us how much they earn, whether they are satisfied with their jobs, and whether their income has gone up or down.Medscape Features Slideshows, April 2019
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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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Leslie Kane, MA
Senior Director
Medscape Business of Medicine
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References
Auerbach DI, Staiger DO, Buerhaus PI. [Table: Historical and Projected Numbers of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants] Growing ranks of advanced practice clinicians – implications for the physician workforce. NEJM Catalyst. August 2018. Source
Murphy B. For first time, physician practice owners are not the majority. May 31, 2017. American Medical Association. Source
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