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Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020
| Contributor Information
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Medscape Nephrologist 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist 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.
Nephrologists are below the middle earners of all physicians. Their income is similar to last year's average of $305,000.
(Note: Label values on charts have been rounded, but rankings and calculations are based on raw data to avoid rounding errors.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
More than half of physician respondents (56%) said they have an incentive bonus. Nephrologists' average annual bonuses are 16% of the average total salary for their specialty. The average incentive bonus among physicians overall is 13% of total salary. (Results are shown only for specialties where sample sizes are sufficient.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Fifty-six percent of nephrologists achieve more than three quarters of their potential annual incentive bonus. On average, nephrologists 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist 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 nephrologists, 32% said their potential incentive bonus influenced them to increase their work hours.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Male nephrologists earn about 18% 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
On average, nephrologists spend 16.7 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.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
At 14%, nephrologists 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.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
About half of nephrologists said their practice uses nurse practitioners to treat patients. One third said they use physician assistants, and a similar proportion said they don't employ either role for patient care. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of nephrologists who work with PAs and NPs at their offices, 37% said they helped increase profitability, while 54% 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.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The large majority of nephrologists have no plans to stop services to Medicare and Medicaid patients, somewhat more than the percentage of physicians overall (73%). (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The large majority of nephrologists rely on payers. Thirty-eight percent rely on fee-for-service and 24% on accountable care organizations for patient-based income. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
A larger percentage of nephrologists expect to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System option of value-based care versus alternative payment models.
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Medscape Nephrologist 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. For nephrologists, being very good at what they do is the top reward, followed by making the world a better place and gratitude from and relationships with patients.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
For nephrologists, having so many rules and regulations is the primary challenge when caring for patients. Difficulties getting fair reimbursement and long work hours are also seen as contributors to a demanding profession.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Only 44% of nephrologists said they felt fairly compensated, similar to last year's percentage (43%).
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
If they could go back in time, three quarters of nephrologists would still choose a career in medicine. This is about the same percentage as for physicians overall (77%).
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of nephrologists who said they would choose medicine again, 69% said they would remain in the specialty—one of the lowest percentages among physicians overall.
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Nephrologist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Nephrologist 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
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Keith L. Martin
Editorial Director, Medscape Business of Medicine
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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
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