Physicians and incomes - from Deloitte

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions is a great resource. Their Monday morning news updates tend to be concise and informative.

This week's is no exception. Among the topics is a terse summary AMA survey data on physician roles and incomes.

According to Deloitte:

• 661,400 physicians and surgeons are licensed in the U.S. (2008): 19 percent are employed in hospitals; 53 percent in group practices, 12 percent are solo practitioners and 16 percent work in research/educational roles in larger organizations (Source: AMA)
• Of those in patient-care settings, 32 percent practice in primary care; 68 percent in specialties (Sources: AMA, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• 75 percent practice in urban areas; 25 percent in rural (Sources: AMA, U.S. Department of Commerce)
• Between 2008 and 2018, the physician workforce will increase 22 percent to 805,500 (Source: U.S. Department of Labor)
• Median income for primary care physicians in 2008: $186,044; for specialists $339,738 (Source: Medical Group Management Association) Note: Does not include income from ownership of ancillaries/hospitals

Deloitte also summarizes Merritt-Hawkins' 2010 Inpatient-Outpatient Survey data on the revenue production per employed physician and salary for select specialties:

• Neurosurgery: $2,815,650 revenue; $571,000 salary
• Cardiology (invasive): $2,240,366 revenue; $475,000 salary
• Orthopedic surgery: $2,117,764 revenue; $481,000 salary
• General surgery: $2,112,492 revenue; $321,000 salary
• Internal medicine: $1,678,341 revenue; $186,000 salary
• Family practice: $1,622,832 revenue; $173,000 salary
• Hematology/Oncology: $1,485,627 revenue; $335,000 salary
• Gastroenterology: $1,450,540 revenue; $393,000 salary
• Urology: $1,382,704 revenue; $401,000 salary
• OB/GYN: $1,364,131 revenue; $266,000 salary
• Cardiology (non-invasive): $1,319,658 revenue; $419,000 salary
• Psychiatry: $1,290,104 revenue; $200,000 salary
• Pulmonology: $1,204,919 revenue; $293,000 salary
• Neurology: $907,317 revenue; $258,000 salary
• Pediatrics: $856,154 revenue; $171,000 salary
• Ophthalmology: $842,711 revenue; $282,000 salary
• Nephrology: $696,888 revenue; $240,000 salary

I find these resources valuable when one wants to to "back of the envelope" calculations.