Drop in compensation gap for primary care docs, specialists

(HealthDay)—From 2012 to 2013, there was a 5.7 percent increase in the median total cash compensation for primary care physicians, with a smaller gap seen for medical and surgical specialists, according to the results of a recent survey from SullivanCotter.

The survey reported data from 484 organizations covering 91,000 health care providers. Cash compensation data were included for 230 physicians, Ph.D., and advanced practice clinician specialties, and for eight medical group executive positions.

According to the report, there was a 5.7 percent overall increase of median total cash compensation for primary care physicians between 2012 and 2013. During the same timeframe, medical and surgical specialists had increases of 3.2 and 2.3 percent. In an approach that allowed performance-metrics such as quality to be part of the physician compensation model, in 2013, the overall median amount paid for quality was $15,000, but this ranged from $7,000 for primary care to $20,000 for medical and surgical specialties. The amount paid for quality represented 5 percent of the total cash compensation.

"For many years, our survey results have shown a widening gap in the pay relationships between primary care physicians and specialists. The results from our 2013 survey demonstrate a slight shift in the market and these pay relationships," Kim Mobley, the managing principal and national physician compensation practice leader at SullivanCotter, said in a statement. "This is consistent with the ever-increasing labor market demand for primary care physicians."