Physician compensation surveys offer little encouraging news

Rising costs and declining reimbursements are cited by many as the main culprits behind doctors' economic conditions.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Sept. 15, 2003.

While 2002 proved to be a good year financially for a handful of specialties, the trend of physicians working harder for about the same or even less pay continued for many, including primary care doctors. That's according to annual income surveys conducted by two medical group associations.

Primary care physicians reported a median income of just more than $150,000 in 2002, a 2.8% increase, according to the Medical Group Management Assn.'s "Physician Compensation and Production Survey."

Internists saw a 3.8% increase to about $155,500, family physicians a 2.5% increase to just more than $150,000, and pediatricians a rise of 1.6%, to about $152,600, according to the survey. Yet, gross charges for primary care physicians increased nearly 5.2% last year.

Results for primary care doctors were even more disheartening in the American Medical Group Assn.'s "Compensation and Productivity Survey." While family physicians saw a 2.3% increase in income, to nearly $149,000, internists saw a 1.8% decline and pediatricians saw a 3.8% drop. Charges for those physicians increased between 6.3% and 9.6% last year, the survey said.

Rising costs and declining reimbursements are the main culprits for the doctors' current economic situation, which has grown more pronounced over the last couple of years, physicians said.