Please confirm that you would like to log out of Medscape.
If you log out, you will be required to enter your username and password the next time you visit.
Log outCancel
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020
| Contributor Information
Swipe to advance
1 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians have been struggling through intense challenges caring for patients while trying to protect their own and their families' health and well-being.
Doctors' most critical concerns are those involving life and death. Still, while confronting this crisis, salary and income are important to one's career and livelihood.
2 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The health impact of COVID-19 has been grave, and the financial fallout is widespread.
Many physician offices have closed or have greatly reduced their hours. Hospitals, clinics, and large groups throughout the nation are laying off staff and cutting salaries. Specialties that relied upon elective procedures have lost much or most of their business. Those include, but are not limited to, orthopedics, plastic surgery, dermatology, cardiology, and ophthalmology.
3 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The data for this year's Compensation Report were collected prior to February 10, 2020, and reflect physician salary and income prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Physicians told us about their incentive bonuses, income, hours worked, greatest challenges, what gives them satisfaction, and more.
Survey respondents reported their compensation for patient care. For employed physicians, that includes salary, bonus, and profit-sharing contributions. For self-employed physicians, it includes earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses, before income tax. Only full-time salaries are included in our results. This report includes responses from more than 17,000 physicians in over 30 specialties.
Cardiologists are among the top earners of all physicians. Their income is somewhat up from last year's average of $430,000.
(Note: Label values on charts have been rounded, but rankings and calculations are based on raw data to avoid rounding errors.)
4 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
More than half of physician respondents (56%) said they have an incentive bonus. Cardiologists' average annual bonuses are 14% of the average total salary for their specialty, similar to that of physicians overall (13%). (Results are shown only for specialties where sample sizes are sufficient.)
5 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Fifty-five percent of cardiologists achieve more than three quarters of their potential annual incentive bonus. On average, cardiologists achieve around two thirds of their potential bonus, the same proportion as for physicians overall.
Michael Belkin, JD, divisional vice president at Merritt Hawkins, a national physician recruiting firm, said that most physicians don't earn their entire potential incentive bonus, partly due to the fact that employers are concerned with Stark Law prohibitions against self-referral and want to build in "safe harbor" provisions that protect them from possible penalty. As a result, they may cap the incentive that a physician can earn.
6 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Close to one third of physicians overall who have incentive bonuses said the prospect of the bonus has encouraged them to work longer hours. Similarly for cardiologists, 35% said their potential incentive bonus influenced them to increase their work hours.
7 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Male cardiologists earn about 16% more than their female peers. Among all specialists, men earn 31% more than women, similar to last year's figure of 33%. There is a 25% gender pay gap among primary care physicians, the same as in last year's report.
8 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Among all physicians, the average time spent seeing patients is 37.9 hours per week.
9 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
On average, cardiologists spend 16.9 hours per week on paperwork and administration, similar to physicians overall (15.6 hours). Intensivists top the list regarding such tasks, followed by internists, infectious disease physicians, and physiatrists. Ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists reported the least amount of time. (Results are shown only for specialties where sample sizes are sufficient.)
10 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
At 15%, cardiologists rank at the lower end of physicians potentially losing money on denied or resubmitted claims. One study found that, on average, 63% of denied claims are recoverable, but healthcare professionals spend about $118 per claim on appeals. (Results are shown only for specialties where sample sizes are sufficient.)
11 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
About 4 in 10 cardiologists said they use physician assistants to treat patients, while two thirds said they use nurse practitioners. Roughly a quarter said they don't employ either role for patient care. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
12 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of cardiologists who work with PAs and NPs at their offices, half said they helped increase profitability, while 42% said these employees have had no effect on profitability. Physicians overall who use PAs and NPs were evenly split (47% each) on whether these employees have increased profitability or have had no effect on it.
13 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The vast majority of cardiologists have no plans to stop services to Medicare and Medicaid patients, more than the percentage of physicians overall (73%). (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
14 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The large majority of cardiologists rely on payers. Forty-four percent rely on fee-for-service and 29% on accountable care organizations for patient-based income. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
15 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
A far larger percentage of cardiologists expect to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System option of value-based care versus alternative payment models.
16 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
About a quarter (27%) of physicians overall noted gratitude from and relationships with patients as the main factor for their career satisfaction. Among cardiologists, that and being very good at what they do were the top factors.
17 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
For cardiologists, having so many rules and regulations is the primary challenge when caring for patients. Long work hours and working with the EHR system are also seen as contributors to a demanding profession.
18 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Sixty-one percent of cardiologists said they felt fairly compensated, somewhat higher than last year's percentage (54%).
19 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
If they could go back in time, 82% of cardiologists would still choose a career in medicine. This is a slightly higher percentage than for physicians overall (77%).
20 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of cardiologists who said they would choose medicine again, 92% said they would remain in the specialty—one of the higher percentages among physicians overall.
21 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
22 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
23 of 24
Scroll
Medscape Cardiologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
More than 17,000 physicians told us about their salary, incentive bonus, and denied claims, and how they feel about their career in medicine.Medscape Features Slideshow, May 2020
Commenting is limited to medical professionals. To comment please Log-in.
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.
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.
Close
Contributor Information
Author
Keith L. Martin
Editorial Director, Medscape Business of Medicine
Close
References
MGMA. COVID-19 Financial Impact on Medical Practices. Source
Eldred SM. Firings, furloughs, and pay cuts in advance of COVID-19 surge. Medscape Medical News. March 31, 2020. Source
Sainato M. US for-profit healthcare sector cuts thousands of jobs as pandemic rages. The Guardian. April 14, 2020. Source
Kareo. Kareo survey reveals coronavirus pandemic impact on independent medical practices and their patients. April 6, 2020. Source
IQVIA. Monitoring the Impact of COVID-19 on the Pharmaceutical Market. April 17, 2020. Source
Close
Image Zoom
Close
Feedback
Please do not use this form to submit personal or patient medical information or to report adverse drug events. You are encouraged to report adverse drug event information to the FDA.
Comments