Hi there,
Just thought I'd check in again ~ I figured there might be some more questions! Hope this helps:
1) The figures are gross income and are stated before taxes come out. I'm not sure about the malpractice thing, I'll check into that, but I think that the figures in the MGMA report are earnings after malpractice is paid out but I could be wrong.
2) If you think the numbers are high, I don't know what more to say to that, other than talk to the MGMA as they are the ones who obtain the figures, I just report them!
🙂 Again, the MGMA is highly respected as the benchmark for physician pay, and many hospitals use the annual compensation report when establishing physician comp plans - it's not just our firm that uses MGMA figures. I will look again but I think for the "highest paid" doctors article that started this whole thread, I did quote the docs with the highest TOP-end pay - so those figures in the article are not MEAN/AVG or median incomes - those salaries may be in the top 25% (e.g. only about 1/4 of all docs make that in that specialty, as opposed to AVG earnings) - because the article is about the TOP earners. For MEAN/AVG and MEDIAN figures, you can refer to the physician profile for the specialty you're interested in and that will contain the MEDIAN income (50th percentile). Also, one thing that may be causing a discrepancy is the technical fees. Most doctors make the bulk of their income by billing for, and being paid for their time (professional fees). However, if they own equipment (such as a nuclear camera, or an ultrasound machine, MRI, or whatever the case may be) they can increase their income because they can bill for and earn money from what's called a technical fee for the use of that capital equipment. (another reason academic docs earn less - the university owns the equipment, so academic docs can't earn any $ off of the technical fee). When docs own equipment or run an outpatient surgery center etc they can increase their income significantly because they can bill for the technical fees for the use of the equipment. Of course that requires a significant captial investment to buy the equipment, which is not reflected in salary figures for MGMA or any salary survey. For example, Oncologists can earn a lot more if they are owner or part owner in an infusion center for chemotherapy, or a cancer center with lots of imaging or radiation equipment, etc. If an oncologist is working as an employee of a group practice or hospital and has no ownership in any equipment, his/her income will be much lower, if they are "only" able to earn money for professional fees.
3) My commissions and the placement fees are a flat rate, regardless of the salary, because we work on a retained basis (meaning our clients/hospitals pay us on an ongoing basis, not just on the back end after placement is made - it's sort of like outsourcing the recruitment to us), so the placement fee that clients pay is about $16k (plus retainer fees and monthly fees which are also a flat rate fee) whether the physician is offered $200k or $400k, or more.
4) I found the thread via google alerts - gotta love google!
🙂 I highly recommend setting up an alert for your name, to keep track of your online presence, as well as any domain names you own if you ever have your own blog or website. When you begin interviewing for med schools, residencies, and jobs, people will look you up online and you'll want to know what the internet is saying about you! Just a random tip for future reference.
5) Regarding earnings in small towns vs. large cities, I also wrote an
article about that too ~ (but these #s are based on MGMA too, just so you know!) It's interesting ~ most physicians (not all) do earn more in small to mid-sized towns, for a number of reasons - one reason is supply and demand, and lack of competition, but also reimbursements are often higher and overhead is lower as well - it's hard to explain but insurance companies have more leverage in big cities, and they can negotiate lower reimbursement rates by pitting multiple physician groups and hospitals against each other, whereas in small towns, the big hospital (usually only 1 or 2) has more leverage to demand higher reimbursements from the insurance companies (within reason).
A lot of this info is stuff they'll never teach you in med school (or residency, or fellowship) so keep doing your research! But as you can see, you can't believe everything you hear, read, see, etc. You guys (and gals) will be ahead of the game, I can tell - it's good to be analytical - I like your style!
🙂 Keep up the great work.
Regards,
Andrea
