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Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021
| Contributor Information
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Many physicians' offices closed temporarily or saw fewer patients in 2020 due to COVID-19, making it a worrisome year for physician compensation, on top of concerns about the well-being of both patients and providers. General surgeons' practices were not immune. While the worst business days are over for some physicians, others still struggle to recover.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Although 49% of general surgeons reported some decline in compensation, average general surgeon income was about the same in 2020 ($373,000) as in 2019 ($364,000). Similarly, average income for physicians overall varied little from 2019 to 2020, despite the hardships brought by COVID-19.
Almost 18,000 physicians in over 29 specialties told us about their income, bonuses, hours worked, greatest challenges, and the surprising impact of COVID on their compensation. 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 were included in our results.
Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% due to rounding.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
The large majority of general surgeons who saw a drop in income cited COVID-19–related issues such as job loss, fewer hours, and fewer patients. Seventeen percent pointed to non–COVID-related factors. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physicians' incentive bonuses are usually based on productivity but can also be tied to patient satisfaction, clinical processes, or other goals. Our prior year's report showed that the average payment among general surgeons who received a bonus was 11% of total salary, nearly the same percentage as this year's (12%). (Results are shown only for specialties with sufficient sample sizes.)
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Fifty-six percent of general surgeons who earn an incentive bonus achieve more than three quarters of their potential annual payment, a bit down from the prior year (63%). On average, general surgeons achieve 62% of their potential bonus, a somewhat smaller percentage than do physicians overall (68%).
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Forty-two percent of general surgeons who suffered financial or practice-related ill effects due to the pandemic expect their income to return to normal this year. The same percentage believe it will take 2 to 3 years. Eighty-three percent of such physicians overall anticipate a return to pre-COVID income levels within a couple of years. Notably, 45% of physicians overall said the pandemic did not cause them financial or practice-related harm.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
On average among general surgeons, self-employment brings in about the same income as does being employed. Among physicians overall, self-employment brings an average $352,000 in annual earnings while being employed commands an average income of $300,000.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
General surgeon respondents reported how much time they spent on medical-related work outside of patient visits, including time devoted to paperwork, EHR documentation, administrative and managerial work, participation in professional organizations, and clinical reading. This year's average is a bit more than last year's (15.8 hours per week). Physicians overall spend an average of 16.3 hours per week on such tasks.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physician work hours generally declined for at least some time during the pandemic, and some physicians were even furloughed. But like most physicians, general surgeons are back to working about the same number of hours they did prior to COVID-19. Perhaps not surprising, intensivists, infectious disease physicians, and public health and preventive medicine physicians are pulling longer hours now, about 6 or 7 more per week than before.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
While physicians who see patients generally are working about the same number of hours per week that they did pre-pandemic, they are typically seeing fewer patients due to time spent on medical office safety protocols, answering questions around COVID-19, and other factors. Pediatricians are experiencing one of the largest average declines (78 patients per week prior vs 64 now — down about 18%), followed by dermatologists, orthopedists, and otolaryngologists (each down about 15%). General surgeons are seeing an average decline of about 13%, from 49 to 43 patients per week.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Among self-employed general surgeons, 45% believe that a drop in patient volume of up to a quarter is permanent. Twelve percent said the volume is permanently reduced by just over a quarter to a half.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
A majority of physicians overall plan to keep taking Medicare and/or Medicaid patients. About a tenth of general surgeons are yet undecided. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
About a third of general surgeon respondents were planning to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2021. The same proportion had yet to decide. "The stakes for the Quality Payment Program — the program that incorporates MIPS — are high, with a 9% penalty applied to all Medicare reimbursement for failure to participate," says Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, CPC, president of physician practice consulting firm Woodcock & Associates in Atlanta, Georgia. "With margins already slim, most physicians can't afford this massive penalty. It makes sense to protect your revenue by complying with — at least — the bare minimum." (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Similar to last year's report (58%), 60% of general surgeons said they feel fairly compensated. Nearly 8 in 10 oncologists feel that they are fairly compensated, up from 67% last year — putting them at the top of the list again. Plastic surgeons' attitudes saw the largest positive change (68%, up from 55% last year) while otolaryngologists' slid the furthest (57%, down from 66%).
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Despite professional challenges, most physicians find their work rewarding. Twenty-six percent of general surgeons pointed to gratitude from and relationships with patients as their main source of career satisfaction; the same percentage cited making the world a better place. Twenty-four percent said being very good at what they do brings the most reward.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Rules and regulations continue to bog down physicians' daily work — 23% of respondents from across the profession said this is their biggest challenge. The same percentage of general surgeons agreed.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
If they had a choice, 77% of general surgeons would pick medicine again, nearly the same as physicians overall (78%). Despite the shock, safety issues, stress, and grief wrought by the pandemic, this is the same response among general surgeons as in the prior year, and nearly the same among all physicians (77%). In our 2013 Compensation Report, with almost 22,000 physician respondents, only 51% of physicians said they would choose medicine again as their career.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
As they were in last year's report, dermatology, orthopedics, oncology, and ophthalmology are among the top of the list. General surgeons are unchanged, in the middle at 84%. Family medicine and internal medicine are typically toward the bottom, as they are again this year.
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
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Medscape General Surgeon Compensation Report 2021
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
'Death by 1000 Cuts': Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021
Burnout and depression are still serious problems among physicians, especially amid COVID-19. More than 12,000 physicians told us how burnout has affected their relationships, career, and happiness.Medscape Features Slideshow, Jan 2021
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Keith L. Martin
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Medscape Business of Medicine
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