Physician compensation, productivity at physician-owned practices on the rise

Editor's Note

New research from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), via the 2022 edition of MGMA DataDive Provider Compensation, revealed that compensation for all physicians is on the rise, PR Newswire May 24 reports.

The data comprises more than 192,000 providers across more than 7,700 physician-owned and hospital-owned organizations and academic practices, and it and shows that while “compensation for providers varies dramatically by state, physician-owned practices report higher levels of productivity than in previous years,” the article noted. The latter is an important metric for ambulatory surgery centers.

The research looked at the following subspecialties: anesthesiology, cardiology, hospital medicine, neurology, and neurocritical care, among others. “Compensation for most physician specialties saw slight increases between 2019 and 2021, with productivity numbers staying relatively flat over the two-year period,” the article surmised.

Additional findings included:

• Newly hired post-residency providers report earning 7% to 10% more in 2021 in guaranteed compensation than in 2020.
• Primary care physicians in southern and western regions saw a 7.29% increase and 6.28% increase, respectively, compared to the East Coast and the Midwest regions, where they saw a 2.24% and 3.9% increase, respectively.
• Surgical specialty physicians earn over $600,000 more in Nevada than their counterparts in Idaho, and nonsurgical specialty physicians report earning $370,000 more in Mississippi than their counterparts in Idaho.

The research also covered burnout and staffing shortages experienced by physicians, with a poll showing that “42% of healthcare leaders said their organizations’ top priority…is operations and human resources,” the article concluded.