Of the 30 physician specialties studied by the American Medical Group Association, the highest-compensated physicians in 2012 were cardiologists in the cath lab, according to the AMGA's 2013 compensation and financial survey.
AMGA, partnering with compensation firm Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, mailed out the survey in January 2013 and received valid responses from 280 medical groups, representing roughly 67,900 physicians.
Cath lab cardiologists, who made more than $547,000 on average last year, edged out cardiac and thoracic surgeons. Cardiac and thoracic surgeons had held onto the top spot, but their pay decreased 3.33 percent from 2011 to $525,944.
Outside of cath lab cardiologists and cardiac/thoracic surgeons, the only other physicians to earn more than $500,000 per year in total compensation were orthopedic surgeons and interventional diagnostic radiologists.
General pediatricians had the lowest compensation of specialties surveyed at an average $222,827. Psychiatrists, the lowest-paid physician specialty in last year's survey, moved up to third-to-last at $224,878.
Overall, 61 percent of the specialties saw an increase in compensation, and the year-over-year increase among all specialties was 1.6 percent. Endocrinologists reported the largest pay bump from 2011 — they earned an average of $234,258 last year, up more than 5.8 percent from 2011.
Here are 60 statistics on physician compensation across several specialties from the AMGA's report. Note: All data below reflect compensation recorded in the 2012 calendar year. All data are medians. Data represents physicians who work in medical groups only.
|
Physician specialty |
Compensation in 2012 |
Percentage Change from 2011 |
|
Cardiology (cath lab) |
$547,112 |
4.27 percent |
|
Cardiac/thoracic surgery |
$525,944 |
-3.33 percent |
|
Orthopedic surgery |
$525,000 |
1.79 percent |
|
Diagnostic radiology (interventional) |
$504,772 |
4.02 percent |
|
Diagnostic radiology (noninterventional) |
$453,216 |
-1.30 percent |
|
Gastroenterology |
$432,616 |
-0.58 percent |
|
Urology |
$424,603 |
2.17 percent |
|
Cardiology |
$420,991 |
-2.17 percent |
|
Dermatology |
$411,499 |
3.56 percent |
|
Anesthesiology |
$394,734 |
4.60 percent |
|
Otolaryngology |
$383,141 |
2.34 percent |
|
General surgery |
$373,478 |
0.93 percent |
|
Ophthalmology |
$372,552 |
0.15 percent |
|
Pathology (combined) |
$354,054 |
-2.61 percent |
|
Hematology/medical oncology |
$350,268 |
0.61 percent |
|
OB/GYN (general) |
$312,541 |
3.03 percent |
|
Emergency medicine |
$301,000 |
1.18 percent |
|
Pulmonary disease (without critical care) |
$300,646 |
-1.40 percent |
|
Hypertension/nephrology |
$277,449 |
-0.17 percent |
|
Allergy/immunology |
$270,904 |
1.04 percent |
|
Neurology |
$255,004 |
2.31 percent |
|
Infectious disease |
$242,447 |
5.64 percent |
|
Hospitalist (internal medicine) |
$241,250 |
2.01 percent |
|
Rheumatologic disease |
$240,250 |
-4.89 percent |
|
Urgent care |
$239,733 |
-1.00 percent |
|
Endocrinology |
$234,258 |
5.81 percent |
|
Internal medicine |
$226,833 |
1.08 percent |
|
Psychiatry |
$224,878 |
3.54 percent |
|
Family medicine |
$223,810 |
2.03 percent |
|
Pediatrics/adolescent (general) |
$222,827 |
0.99 percent |
More Articles on Physician Compensation:
Physician Pay Raises Slow in 2012, But Groups Rebound to Break-Even
6 Physician Specialties: Compensation Statistics and Fair Market Value Analysis
51 Statistics on Physician Salaries vs. Hospital Revenue Generated