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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

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. Dermatologists 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.)

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

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.

Dermatologists are among the top earners of all physician specialties. Dermatologist income is up from last year's average income of $392,000. 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.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Male dermatologists spent 12% more time seeing patients than did their female peers.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Paperwork and administration is a growing burden for physicians in all specialties. Our survey shows that 46% of dermatologists spent 10-19 hours per week on paperwork and administrative tasks, compared with 38% of all physicians. Twenty-eight percent of dermatologists were saddled with 20 hours or more per week; 36% of physicians overall had that much.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Women spent about 5 hours more per week than did men on paperwork and administrative chores.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

About three quarters of dermatologists' benefit packages have stayed the same. More dermatologists' benefits have gotten worse than have improved.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

In general, larger medical practices benefit from economies of scale, which lead to a lower overhead percentage.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Dermatology practices use PAs (41%) more and NPs (27%) less than physicians overall (36% and 50%, respectively). 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.)

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Our survey shows that 90% of dermatologists 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.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

The percentage of dermatologists in fee-for-service arrangements (48%) is similar to that of last year (46%). The percentage in ACOs (9%) decreased compared with last year (21%).

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Although Medicare reimbursement is lower than that of many private insurers, the majority of dermatologists 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]

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

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%).

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Dermatologists' attitudes toward their compensation have varied little since our 2014 report. At that time, 64% of dermatologists said that they were satisfied with their compensation.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

For dermatologists (27%), as for physicians overall (26%), having so many rules and regulations is the most challenging part of their job. Dermatologists (24%) found getting fair reimbursement more difficult than did physicians overall (13%).

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

Physicians overall (29%) found gratitude from and relationships with patients to be the most rewarding part of their jobs. An even greater percentage of dermatologists cited that as the most rewarding factor.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

The large majority of dermatologists—and 77% of all physicians—would choose to go into medicine again as a career, if they had to make the choice.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

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 high percentage of dermatologists noted that they would remain in their chosen specialty.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

According to American Medical Association data,[3] the single-specialty group is the most common practice type, 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; among dermatologists, solo practices are a more common worksite.

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

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Medscape Dermatologist Compensation Report 2019

Leslie Kane, MA | April 29, 2019 | Contributor Information

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Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2019

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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