According to findings in the American Medical Group Association’s (AMGA) 2008 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey, most specialties saw modest increases in compensation in 2007, but many provider organizations continue to operate at a significant loss.
The survey found that 91 percent of the specialties experienced increases in compensation in 2007, with the overall average increase around 3.5 percent. The primary care specialties (excluding hospitalists) saw about a 3.2 percent increase in 2007, while other medical and surgical specialties averaged around 3.7 percent. The survey reports that during 2007 the specialties experiencing the largest increases in compensation were dermatology (8.97 percent), cardiac/thoracic surgery (8.11 percent), hematology and medical oncology (7.66 percent), pathology (7.38 percent), and hospitalists (7.32 percent). It is interesting to note that cardiac/thoracic surgery saw one of the largest decreases in compensation in 2006 (-2.13 percent).
The survey also found that medical groups were operating at an average loss of $4,728 per physician (median performance per physician), reflecting a major overall downturn from 2006. Read the press release.
