Doctors working more for smaller gains

Specialists fared somewhat better than primary care physicians, but gains in productivity outstripped any gain in income.

By Julie A. Jacob, AMNews staff. Sept. 2, 2002.

Gains in physician productivity outstripped gains in physician compensation last year, according to the Medical Group Management Assn.'s "Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2002 Report."

Primary care physicians had only an average 1.2% increase in compensation, a drop from the average 2.3% increase in 2000. Despite this small gain, productivity for primary care physicians, as measured by median gross charges, jumped an average of 11% last year, a big increase from the average 0.4% increase the group experienced in 2000.

"It looks like they are working harder to maintain their incomes," said Dan Stech, MGMA's director of survey operations.

Specialists fared somewhat better than primary care physicians, but their gains in productivity also outstripped their income gains.

Specialist compensation increased an average of 2.6% last year, compared with an average increase of 4.3% for specialists in 2000.

Specialist productivity, however, rose 5.2% last year, compared with a 4.8% increase in 2000.

Slim as increases in compensation were for physicians this year, gains next year are likely to be even smaller or nonexistent, said Stech.

Another finding from the survey was that physicians who worked in physician-owned single specialty groups had overall higher average increases in compensation than physicians who worked in multispecialty or hospital-owned practices. [...]