Compensation vs. procedures

[sdnetrocks]

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It seems like the way the medical system is in its current state in the US, the physicians that get paid the most tend to be the ones that do operations, procedures, etc.

Am I overlooking any well-compensated patient-contact+ specialties that are not overly procedure oriented?

 

[pratik7]

rads and path do not perform lots of procedures and get paid well.

 

[rpkall]

It's a shame that they don't pay doctors to doctor anymore; they just pay them to play surgeon. 😉

I think patient contact (unanesthetized) and salary are inversely related, unfortunately. 🙁

 

[oudoc08]

Current reimbursement is higher for procedures than for intellect, in part because procedures carry more risk and thus more liablity.

Look at malpractice premiums in general. The spine surgeon is more likely to face a multi-million dollar suit than the medicine doc, thus it can only be expected that compensation would (and should) be higher for that reason alone.

But obviously, there are several factors besides this that determine compensation, and yes, I agree, the intellectual aspect isn't rewarded proportionally.

 

[Blade28]

For some reason, there's an emphasis on higher compensation for procedures. Then again, non-procedure docs get paid more to write daily notes, do consults, etc. than the surgeons when they write their daily notes for post-op patients, IIRC.

 

[Electrophys]

For some reason, there's an emphasis on higher compensation for procedures. Then again, non-procedure docs get paid more to write daily notes, do consults, etc. than the surgeons when they write their daily notes for post-op patients, IIRC.

I think part of this also has to do with the fact that procedures generally have a greater risk than non-procedures. Malpractice is higher and the procedures themselves cost more to do, so its natural that the compensation would be higher too.

Edit: Forgot to read 2 posts up. Apologies for the repeat!

 

[aamartin81]

Reimbursement by insurance contracts is based upon rates established by the government through Medicare. These companies contract with physicians to pay X% of Medicare allowables. In a city/town where there is a high degree of insurance penetrance, these amounts are smaller. Rural areas tend to have higher rates because physicians can come together to jointly reject an insurance company's proposal and demand higher rates. As to how these Medicare allowables are determined, the government performed a 15 year study (I believe) throughout the 1980's and 90's to determine the amount of work/skill/education necessary to perform each procedure listed in the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) handbook released each year by the AMA. If you have questions about how any of this works, let me know.

Good luck,

Adam