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Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020
| Contributor Information
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Medscape Psychiatrist 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 Psychiatrist 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 Psychiatrist 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.
Psychiatrists are among the lowest earners of all physicians. Still, psychiatrist income is up from last year's average of $260,000.
(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 Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
More than half of physician respondents (56%) said they have an incentive bonus. Psychiatrists' average annual bonuses are 10% 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 Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Sixty-six percent of psychiatrists achieve more than three quarters of their potential annual incentive bonus. On average, psychiatrists achieve 70% of their potential bonus, similar to physicians overall (67%).
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 Psychiatrist 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. A similar percentage of psychiatrists said their potential incentive bonus influenced them to increase their work hours.
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Male psychiatrists earn about 21% 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 Psychiatrist 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. This is more than the amount of time psychiatrists—both men and women—spend on face-to-face interactions.
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
On average, psychiatrists spend 15.9 hours per week on paperwork and administration, about the same as do 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 Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
At 16%, psychiatrists rank toward the middle 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 Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Only 14% of psychiatrists said their practice uses physician assistants to treat patients, while 46% said they use nurse practitioners. About half said they don't employ either role for patient care. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of psychiatrists who work with PAs and NPs at their offices, 34% said they helped increase profitability, while 61% 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 Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Fifty-six percent of psychiatrists have no plans to stop services to Medicare and Medicaid patients, less than the percentage of physicians overall (73%). Nearly a quarter of psychiatrists are undecided. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
The majority of psychiatrists rely on payers. Thirty percent rely on fee-for-service and 14% on accountable care organizations for patient-based income. (Respondents could select more than one answer.)
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Only 12% of psychiatrists expect to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System option of value-based care, yet a higher percentage versus alternative payment models.
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Medscape Psychiatrist 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. Twenty-four percent of psychiatrists said the same, but a somewhat higher percentage cited making the world a better place (28%) as their top reward. About 20% said being very good at what they do is the main factor.
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
For psychiatrists, having so many rules and regulations is the primary challenge when caring for patients. Dealing with difficult patients is also seen as a contributor to a demanding profession.
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Two thirds of psychiatrists said they felt fairly compensated, similar to last year's percentage (64%).
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
If they could go back in time, 81% of psychiatrists would still choose a career in medicine. This is a similar percentage as for physicians overall (77%).
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
Of psychiatrists who said they would choose medicine again, 89% said they would remain in the specialty—one of the higher percentages among physicians overall.
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report 2020
Keith L. Martin | May 20, 2020 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Psychiatrist 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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