NEJM: Physician Compensation Outlook: Mostly Positive

The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article forecasting the current and future compensation for physicians. According to the article, primary care physician's compensation is brightening considerably, but there may be hurdles ahead for certain specialties.

Because of the severe shortage of Primary Care Physicians as well as other certain specialties these doctors are able to negotiate better on their overall income and benefit packages and create bonus structures as enticement. Relocation, CME, training stipends, signing bonuses, loan payment assistance, and overall benefit packages are one way hospitals are attracting physicians experiencing shortages.

Median compensation in Primary Care increased between 7% and 10% from 2007 to 2008, according to data from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) 2009 Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey; and by 10% in specialties as a whole.

Also, income is becoming more consistent for both Primary Care and Specialists across the US. Previous regional income disparities are less common and physicians can experience more of a set income for any geographical area.

However the outlook on some specialty’s income may slightly decrease, such as Urology and Oncology. Factors are ranging from the unknowns about how the Obama Care health-reform provisions will play out in the marketplace, changes in Medicare reimbursements, to a growing array of national initiatives to reduce healthcare costs and streamline care.

For the moment, the compensation picture is generally stable overall for physicians. But is a bit of a mixed bag among specialties, for both established physicians and those starting out. Between 2004 and 2008, median compensation increased roughly 14% for both Primary Care and Specialties as a whole. In the 2009 Physician Compensation and Production Survey, all specialties with the exception of psychiatry, ophthalmology and urology saw increases, and the declines among the latter were modest.

Also the transition of hospital employment positions from private practice opportunities has created a change in overall compensation as a whole. Hospitals, integrated health systems and many large private groups are moving away from solely productivity-based compensation structures and toward quality-based incentive programs.

Read the full article in The New England Journal of Medicine, or click here:
http://www.nejmjobs.org/physician-compensation-outlook-2010.aspx