Primary care physician compensation surpassed $300,000 last year as doctor practices and the healthcare industry grapple with healthcare staffing issues in a tight labor market.
A new report by the Medical Group Management Association shows median primary care physician compensation rose 4.4% to $312,427 in 2023 compared to $299,157 in 2022. That compensation growth was about the same as surgical specialist compensation that rose 4.42% to $554,108 from $530,649. Nonsurgical specialist compensation rose only 1.81% to $432,983 last year compared to $425,265.
MGMA said the report reflects increased productivity of physicians in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included office shutdowns in 2020 and kept patients from seeing their physicians regularly. MGMA said providers are continuing to recover from economic and staffing challenges.“The largest gains in total median compensation were for primary care physicians and surgical specialists , with nonsurgical specialist physicians seeing only a 1.
MGMA executives said primary care, surgical specialty and nonsurgical specialty physicians who work in independent practices “all reported higher median work relative value units in 2023 versus 2022.”showed physician-owned practices had just 3.0 support staff per full-time equivalent physician in 2022 compared to 5.08 per doctor in 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic and the so-called “Great Resignation” took their toll on doctor practices across the country.
"Despite being faced with escalating overhead, declining physician reimbursement, and a challenging labor market, medical groups pushed themselves to elevated levels of productivity in 2023, ensuring they could meet the increased demand for care in their communities," Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, MGMA’s president and chief executive officer said in a statement accompanying the new report.