Self-employment status was a major compensation driver for physicians, as nearly all of whom saw a modest pay raise in 2014, according to Medscape's new Physician Compensation Report.
Highlighted below are five findings from the report related to compensation, self-employment status and payment models.
- Earning an average of $212,000 annually, self-employed primary care physicians earned significantly more in 2014 than physicians employed by a medical group or hospital, who made an average of $189,000.
- Additionally, self-employed specialists earned $329,000 on average, considerably more than their employed counterparts, who earned an average of $258,000.
- Despite the pay disparity between employment statuses, an increasing number of physicians are seeking out employment within a group practice, according to the report.
- Physician participation in accountable care organizations continued to rise dramatically — growing from 3 percent in 2011 to 30 percent in 2014, with another 7 percent of physicians reporting that they plan to join an ACO during 2015.
- Meanwhile, concierge and cash-only practice models remained a tiny portion of the market (3 percent and 6 percent, respectively).
The report includes responses from more than 19,500 physicians across 26 specialties.