Even though doctors’ salaries have seen marginal increases overall in the past two years, average compensation largely hinges on where physicians practice and their business roles, according to a 2013 Medscape study.
 
Physicians make, on average, between $225,000 and $260,000 a year with primary care providers making below $200,000 and specialists such as cardiology and orthopedics raking in nearly twice that. But despite those disparities, all specialties except oncology and endocrinology saw salary gains since 2011, the study says. Family medicine providers saw 5% gains compared to 9% for internists and a mammoth 27% increase for orthopedists.
 
Those numbers shift when physician’s work setting and business role in the practice or health care organization are accounted for, the study found. Here’s a quick breakdown:
  • Physicians in single-specialty practices earn about $5,000 more than those in multispecialty practices and hospitals.
  • Solo practitioners take home almost $50,000 less than providers in multi-provider practices.
  • Doctors who are partners in their health care organizations or practices make the most, $311,000 on average—about $100,000 more than solo practitioners who own their practices.
  • Owning your own solo practice yields $4,000 less annual pay than being an employed physician.
  • The vote is split 50-50 among physicians about whether they are fairly compensated.
For more on compensation of other employees in a physician’s office – such as practice administrators, billers and coders – turn to Part B News.