Medscape has conducted another survey about physicians’ compensation. In this survey, they spoke with nearly 19,200 physicians in over 26 specialties. In addition to general compensation, this year’s survey also took a look at hours spent with each patient, and the rewards and challenges that come with the job.

Some of this year’s findings remain consistent with the findings from previous years. For instance, the top three earners from last year hold the top spots this year as well: Orthopedists earned on average $443,000, cardiologists $410,000 and dermatologists came in at $381,000. The bottom three earners were also unchanged, with pediatricians coming in at $204,000, endocrinologists at $206,000 and family physicians at $207,000. The survey also found that the percentage of female physicians remained unchanged from last year. Nearly 31% of physicians working today are female, and most of them tend to join nonsurgical specialties.

However, there were some eye-opening findings in this year’s report. Here are 9 key insights:

1. Most Specialties Saw an Increase in Compensation

Compared to last year’s survey, the income for most specialists went up this year. Allergists and pulmonologists are the exceptions, as they experienced a noticeable decrease (-11% and -5% respectively) in their income. The compensation for Pathologists and plastic surgeons remained the same. In looking at the chart, we find that rheumatologists and internists saw a significant increase in their compensation. Travis Singleton, senior vice president of national physician search firm Merritt Hawkins, speculates, that the large number of baby boomers who turned 65, have driven the demand for internists, hence, the higher compensation. The survey also found, that although the salaries for internists have increased, many said that if they had it to do all over again, they would change their specialty.

 

2. Men are Still Earning More
   According to the survey, male physicians are still earning higher salaries than their female colleagues. Male PCPs, on average, are earning, $225,000, whereas female PCPs are earning $192,000. For specialists, compensations averaged $242,000 for men and $173,000 for women.
   Interestingly, according to the survey, female salaries rose 36 percent versus 29 percent for male PCPs, and 40 percent versus 34 percent for male specialists.

3. Practice Owners Have Higher Salaries Than Their Employed Counterparts
   Even though physicians who aren’t self-employed, don’t have to worry about the stress that comes with running a business, the downside of not running your own business, is a lower average income. PCPs make $207,000, a little less than their self-employed peers, who on average make $229,000. However, self-employed specialists, earn significantly more than employed specialists, and both of these groups earn more than PCPs.

 

4. Geography Effects Compensation by a Whopping $30,000 a Year
   The area of the country where a physician lives makes a difference of up to $30,000 a year between the highest paid North Central region and the lowest Northeast section of the country. The highest-paid doctors are in some surprising states, namely: North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Alaska, Montana and Indiana. States with the lowest earners include Vermont, Colorado, New Mexico.

 

5. The Average Time Doctors Spend with Their Patients
   Lately, both physicians and their patients have complained of less face time during office visits. How much face time are we talking about? According to the Medscape survey, most doctors spend 13-16 minutes on average with their patients.

 

6. More Specialists Migrating to Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
   The survey found that a fairly equal percentage of PCPs and specialists participate in cash-only (5% and 6% respectively) and the concierge model (4% and 3% respectively) practices. As for accountable care organizations (ACOs), 37% of specialists either already participate in ACOs or are planning to participate this year. This number is quite a bit lower than the 45% PCPs, who either already participate or are planning to start participating in ACOs this year. It is also worth noting, that PCP participation in ACOs increased from 35% last year to 39% this year.

 

7. What’s Causing all the Burnout?
   The graph below illustrates the number of hours physicians spend each week, on paperwork and administrative tasks. According to this year’s Medscape Lifestyle Report, these bureaucratic tasks were the number one cause of burnout among respondents, and it is only getting worse. For instance, according to Medscape’s report, in 2014, 35% of employed and 26% of self-employed physicians, spent at least 10 hours per week on paperwork, but now, 54% of self-employed and 59% of employed physicians are spending at least 10 hours per week on paperwork.

 

8. Fewer Doctors are Kicking Poor Payers to the Curb
   One of the biggest declines seen in this year’s survey was in the number of physicians who said that they would discontinue insurers who pay poorly. Last year 22% doctors said that they would discontinue dealing with insurances that pay poorly, but only 7% said the same this year. Another thing worth pointing out is that, in 2015, 42% of the respondents answered “not applicable”, when asked if they would discontinue their dealings with certain insurances, whereas this year, 60% said “not applicable”. Medscape’s explanation for this increase is that, it most likely reflects the growing number of physicians who are not self-employed, and therefore, do not make these kinds of decisions, regarding insurers.

 

9. Compensation isn’t Everything
   Perhaps, one of the most interesting and positive takeaways from the survey was, that compensation isn’t everything. Physicians on the lower end of the compensation scale said, that they would most likely make the same career choice again. 34 percent said, that patient relationships were the most rewarding aspect of the job, while 32 percent said, that being good at their job was the most rewarding.

 

For more insights, view Medscape’s 2016 Physician Compensation Report.