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Survey shows slow-moving salary increase for physicians

Physician Practice Advisor, August 17, 2004

Workloads and cost of practicing are up and pay is down for family practice physicians, says a national survey of more than 40,000 providers in 105 specialties and 30 nonspecialties conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). The report, titled "MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2004 Report Based on 2003 Data," was released August 11.

For a third year in a row, the MGMA survey found that an increase in primary care productivity surpassed the increase in compensation, MGMA says. Other notable findings:

• 2.4% increase in compensation for primary care physicians, compared to a 6.1% increase in charges
• 7.95% increase in compensation in 2003 for specialists
• 13.59% increase in compensation for noninvasive cardiologists due to competitive recruiting
• Gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and urology also showed gains in compensation

A similar survey, the "MGMA Management Compensation Survey: 2004 Report Based on 2003 Data," revealed the following trends in practice administration compensation:

• 6.88% decline in median compensation for administrators in practices with six or fewer physicians
• 3.28% compensation decrease for groups with seven to 25 full-time physicians
• 5.53% increase in compensation for managers of groups with more than 25 full-time physicians

Compensation for most senior-level positions is moving upward, the survey shows. Laboratory directors saw the largest gain in compensation with a 9.6% increase in 2003.

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