Comments on: Physicians and their salaries http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:15:05 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-107427 Anonymous Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:31:16 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-107427 I think a crucial distinction to make is that not all doctors are compensated equally. Primary care doctors (family practitioners, internists, pediatricians etc) make around $200,000 a year. Specialists make significantly more. The median salary for a cardiologist for example is $380,000 a year. For a neurosurgeon it's $581,000. I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't complain about $300 to $500,000 a year, even if I did do three more years of residency. The problem is not that doctors aren't paid enough. It's that specialists are paid too much and primary care doctors are paid too little. Given that about 2/3 of doctors in the US are specialists, I don't think I can feel too sorry for the average doctor. These figures are based on the 2008 Physician Compensation Survey, by the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). Here's the link: http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_physician_compensation_survey.htm. I think a crucial distinction to make is that not all doctors are compensated equally. Primary care doctors (family practitioners, internists, pediatricians etc) make around $200,000 a year. Specialists make significantly more. The median salary for a cardiologist for example is $380,000 a year. For a neurosurgeon it’s $581,000. I don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t complain about $300 to $500,000 a year, even if I did do three more years of residency. The problem is not that doctors aren’t paid enough. It’s that specialists are paid too much and primary care doctors are paid too little. Given that about 2/3 of doctors in the US are specialists, I don’t think I can feel too sorry for the average doctor. These figures are based on the 2008 Physician Compensation Survey, by the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). Here’s the link: http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_physician_compensation_survey.htm.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82245 Anonymous Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:41:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82245 the most inane question is how much more we need to get so we'll feel properly paid. The market place should decide, not HMO's, or the govt. In any other business, if you do your job well, you can be rewarded by raising your rates. As things currently stand, to bring more money into a practice requires seeing more patients...but that creates an exponential rise in the amount of work that needs to be done during the course of a day (paperwork, phone calls, etc). then the misery factor rises (getting home later and later to see the family). <br/><br/>sure we have the choice of not accepting insurance, but how realistic is that for most physicians?<br/><br/>there should be a serious change in the reimbursement of physicians, or we should be allowed to unionize. the most inane question is how much more we need to get so we’ll feel properly paid. The market place should decide, not HMO’s, or the govt. In any other business, if you do your job well, you can be rewarded by raising your rates. As things currently stand, to bring more money into a practice requires seeing more patients…but that creates an exponential rise in the amount of work that needs to be done during the course of a day (paperwork, phone calls, etc). then the misery factor rises (getting home later and later to see the family).

sure we have the choice of not accepting insurance, but how realistic is that for most physicians?

there should be a serious change in the reimbursement of physicians, or we should be allowed to unionize.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82224 Anonymous Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:23:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82224 The only oligopolist I know buying <br/>Ferraris is the CEO of the local Medicare HMO. In fact, he is also building a 10,000 sq. ft. waterfront mansion, a beach home, and has a swoopy Mercedes for use when more than one other person needs transportation. (Oh, forget the "Rolls-Royce" golf cart). Did I mention this fellow is young, as in in his thirties? <br/><br/>Doctors are capitated at less than Medicare rates based on utilization of the enrolled population. Patients get to travel miles to see some of the least qualified low bidders with some of the highest complication rates, that is when you can get them to operate. <br/><br/>And the silencing of the lambs all starts with a free breakfast at Denny's. If any physician did this to attract patients, he would be hung from the nearest tree for such solicitation of the federally indentured. The only oligopolist I know buying
Ferraris is the CEO of the local Medicare HMO. In fact, he is also building a 10,000 sq. ft. waterfront mansion, a beach home, and has a swoopy Mercedes for use when more than one other person needs transportation. (Oh, forget the “Rolls-Royce” golf cart). Did I mention this fellow is young, as in in his thirties?

Doctors are capitated at less than Medicare rates based on utilization of the enrolled population. Patients get to travel miles to see some of the least qualified low bidders with some of the highest complication rates, that is when you can get them to operate.

And the silencing of the lambs all starts with a free breakfast at Denny’s. If any physician did this to attract patients, he would be hung from the nearest tree for such solicitation of the federally indentured.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82213 Anonymous Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:12:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82213 Ah! But there is no brigandage in selling Ferraris. One could sell Fords (as in the Shelby Mustang now that the GT has seen its production run), Dodges (Vipers), Chevrolets (the new Corvette Z06), etc. Customers, of course, also have that choice. Now the legal drugs and the legal drug dealers are another interesting matter... being a libertarian (small l not big L) it should be obvious what I would suggest in that regard.<br/><br/>~Criminallopath~ Ah! But there is no brigandage in selling Ferraris. One could sell Fords (as in the Shelby Mustang now that the GT has seen its production run), Dodges (Vipers), Chevrolets (the new Corvette Z06), etc. Customers, of course, also have that choice. Now the legal drugs and the legal drug dealers are another interesting matter… being a libertarian (small l not big L) it should be obvious what I would suggest in that regard.

~Criminallopath~

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82208 Anonymous Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:44:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82208 "The "best and the brightest" are often NOT going to med school anymore. We see loads of obsessive, fairly smart women as the more typical cohort of students."<br/><br/>Who says they were going that much in the first place?<br/><br/>"You forgot to mention that the "dumb doctors" group provide the highest value to society."<br/><br/>Really? By what measure? “The “best and the brightest” are often NOT going to med school anymore. We see loads of obsessive, fairly smart women as the more typical cohort of students.”

Who says they were going that much in the first place?

“You forgot to mention that the “dumb doctors” group provide the highest value to society.”

Really? By what measure?

]]> By: K http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82205 K Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:43:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82205 Ed Sodaro,<br/><br/>Thanks, a healthy dose of gender politics was exactly what the issue needed.<br/><br/>When enrollment ratios turn significantly more than 50/50 in gender, I'll accept your premise that the future physicians of America are "obsessive, fairly smart women."<br/><br/>I've seen plenty of extremely bright women choose to become doctors, or decide they'd rather make better money in another field. Rationality isn't exclusive to the male sex.<br/><br/>A general poll of medical students would come up with a group of people who still chose their field because they loved their chosen profession. If they drop out in frustration, it won't be because of a plague of women overrunning the school. It'll be because very few accept a lack of payment for their work...unless funded by external wealth.<br/><br/>You'd have much better luck with the first-generation immigrant or wealthy-people-only theory, from what I hear. Ed Sodaro,

Thanks, a healthy dose of gender politics was exactly what the issue needed.

When enrollment ratios turn significantly more than 50/50 in gender, I’ll accept your premise that the future physicians of America are “obsessive, fairly smart women.”

I’ve seen plenty of extremely bright women choose to become doctors, or decide they’d rather make better money in another field. Rationality isn’t exclusive to the male sex.

A general poll of medical students would come up with a group of people who still chose their field because they loved their chosen profession. If they drop out in frustration, it won’t be because of a plague of women overrunning the school. It’ll be because very few accept a lack of payment for their work…unless funded by external wealth.

You’d have much better luck with the first-generation immigrant or wealthy-people-only theory, from what I hear.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82203 Anonymous Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:42:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82203 Take a drink of water, Crim, you sound like you're choking.<br/><br/>Sounds like there's better money in other forms of brigandage, lke maybe selling legal drugs (another "oligopoly" for you, go figure), or Ferraris. Take a drink of water, Crim, you sound like you’re choking.

Sounds like there’s better money in other forms of brigandage, lke maybe selling legal drugs (another “oligopoly” for you, go figure), or Ferraris.

]]> By: Criminallopath http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82201 Criminallopath Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:34:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82201 Nope. No more money for you. Apparently the brigandage of the Flexnerian generated oligopoly is still not enough when it comes to those that support the Ferrari dealerships. Nope. No more money for you. Apparently the brigandage of the Flexnerian generated oligopoly is still not enough when it comes to those that support the Ferrari dealerships.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82200 Anonymous Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:48:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82200 So do some luxury car dealers and real estate agents that sell autos and houses to doctors respectively. So do some luxury car dealers and real estate agents that sell autos and houses to doctors respectively.

]]> By: Happyman http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html/comment-page-1#comment-82194 Happyman Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:00:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/12/physicians-and-their-salaries.html#comment-82194 some device reps, eg. ortho, make 2-3x what a pediatrician typically makes. sad, isn't it? some device reps, eg. ortho, make 2-3x what a pediatrician typically makes. sad, isn’t it?

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