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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. Infectious diseases (ID) physicians' practices were not immune. While the worst business days are over for some physicians, others still struggle to recover.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Although 32% of ID physicians reported some decline in compensation, average ID physician income was about the same in 2020 ($245,000) as in 2019 ($246,000). 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.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
The large majority of ID physicians who saw a drop in income cited COVID-19–related issues such as job loss, fewer hours, and fewer patients. Thirty-five percent pointed to non–COVID-related factors. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
One quarter of ID physicians who suffered financial or practice-related ill effects due to the pandemic expect their income to return to normal this year. A bit more than half 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.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
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. ID physicians now spend the most, averaging 24.2 hours per week, up sharply from 18.5 hours in our last report. Physicians overall spend an average of 16.3 hours per week on such tasks.
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. Most physicians are back to working about the same number of hours they did prior to COVID-19. Perhaps not surprising, intensivists, ID physicians, and public health and preventive medicine physicians are pulling longer hours now.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physicians who see patients are typically seeing fewer of them 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%). Predictably, ID physicians are seeing more patients on average (66 prior vs 78 now, about a 17% increase).
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Among self-employed ID physicians, 26% believe that a drop in patient volume of up to a quarter is permanent. Fourteen percent said the volume is permanently reduced by just over a quarter to a half.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
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 (to 68%, up from 55% last year) while otolaryngologists' slid the furthest (to 57%, down from 66%). Only 44% of ID physicians said they feel fairly compensated, a shift from 51% last year that drops them to the bottom of the list.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Despite professional challenges, most physicians find their work rewarding. One third of ID physicians cited being very good at what they do as their main source of career satisfaction. Close to another third said making the world a better place brings the most reward.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
Nearly a quarter of ID physicians said having to work long hours is the most challenging aspect of their jobs. Rules and regulations also continue to bog down physicians' daily work — 23% of respondents from across the profession said this is their biggest challenge. The same percentage of ID physicians agreed.
Keith L. Martin | May 14, 2021 | Contributor Information
If they had a choice, 83% of ID physicians would pick medicine again, a somewhat greater percentage than that of physicians overall (78%). Despite the shock, safety issues, stress, and grief wrought by the pandemic, this is a somewhat greater percentage of ID physicians than in the prior year (77%). Physicians overall changed little (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.
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. ID medicine moved up to a bit above the middle. Family medicine and internal medicine are typically toward the bottom, as they are again this year.
'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
Editorial Director
Medscape Business of Medicine
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