PROFESSIONPhysician income not rising as fast as other professional payA survey shows that doctors' net income, when adjusted for inflation, has declined over almost a decade.By Damon Adams, amednews staff. July 24/31, 2006. A new study on physician income won't help family physician leaders who are struggling to interest more medical students in their specialty instead of higher-paying ones. The average net income for primary care physicians, after adjusting for inflation, declined 10% from 1995 to 2003 to $121,262, according to a national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. The average adjusted net income for medical specialists slipped 2% to $175,011 during the same period. "How do you blame a medical student [for not choosing family medicine] when they come out with this huge debt, the work effort and a reimbursement system that works against them?" said Rick Kellerman, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Kellerman and other physician leaders said the study, released in late June, reflects what they are seeing: Income is sliding. "The study confirms what physicians already know in the office -- that their income is not keeping up with inflation," said American Medical Association Board Chair Cecil B. Wilson, MD. The study said the average net income adjusted for inflation for all physicians dropped 7% from 1995 to 2003, the last year studied in the survey. In contrast, income for nonphysician professionals increased 7% during that time. Yet medicine remains one of the best-paid professions, according to the study based on surveys of more than 6,600 physicians. At least half of all patient care physicians earned more than $170,000 in 2003, and the physician average net income was about $203,000. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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