Do physicians consult on the side?

[Gunneria]

I was wondering what other compensation-avenues physicians take in addition to their practice (assuming they have the time)...do firms seek to hire doctors with good research experience (i.e. > 200 pubs in a field) to consult? I'm sure they are more interested in physicinas in an academic setting but I was just wondering.

In addition, what about those other avenues- i.e.- give a presentation, serve as medical jury advisor etc...

Thanks.

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[vanbamm]

If you want to explore consulting as a doctor- the opportunities are really endless- you don't need to have been published a lot, although typically if you are an expert you have contributed to a journal in some way- a great avenue is sports medicine and working as a consult for a team, or even better, a league- you can also work on cases in courts as a medical consult- all of which pay pretty generously...it really depends on your area of expertise and where it is applicable.

 

[DrYoda]

Yes, some do consult. You don't need 200 pubs to do it either (but you would need some expertise in whatever you are consulting on).

 

[Mean Muggin]

Good research experience = 200+ publications???....that's absurd!

 

[mvenus929]

One of my mentors acts as a consultant for trials as an expert witness. Says it pays something like $200/hr on the low end, and that's just for looking over the case, not for actually testifying.

He's an ER doc, fwiw.

 

[BigRedBeta]

There are plenty of opportunities out there, sometimes things you wouldn't ever think of can offer extra cash...or serve as community relations/publicity/service efforts.

And the respect much of the lay public has for physicians also means that they may be offered business opportunities - I've found this particularly true in small towns where the family medicine docs are "institutions" within the area. I've known some MD's who ended up as bank presidents on the side.

Certainly there is a "market" for MD's to be "expert witnesses", however I will say those who offer their services for the plaintiff's attorneys (ie those who are suing physicians) are often stigmatized - to the extent that they may be shunned within their respective communities by other physicians. There's still room to work on medmal defense cases, but the pay for this service is going to be much less.

 

[Gunneria]

oh lol aside from investing, im just wondering what side jobs (in academic or others) you can try to make an additional 1-200k a year...maybe im dreaming

 

[painmd87]

Medical-legal consulting is good work if you can get it. Review cases for lawyers and you can get $350-500/hr in many subspecialities.

The way it often works is you review charts, depositions etc, and give your advice to the lawyer. If you think the doctor did something wrong and you're reviewing for defense, they write you a check and you sign an NDA. If you think the doctor acted properly, they write you a check, note your advice and very rarely you'll testify/depose. Court appearances usually run $5,000 each + the cost of travel and an hourly fee.

Full-time working subspecialists I know grab an extra $20-30,000 per year doing this during "off" time at home. I'm sure if you want to spend more time on it, you'll do better than that.

 

[Fah-Q]

oh lol aside from investing, im just wondering what side jobs (in academic or others) you can try to make an additional 1-200k a year...maybe im dreaming

You don't get rich being just a physician these days. Just like anyone else you need to diversify your income streams. Many physicians own or have shares in various investments related to the healthcare field.

For example: imaging centers, surgery centers, hospitals (Obamacare outlawed this beginning 1/1/2011), medical office buildings, labs, endoscopy facilities, sleep centers, medi-spas, urgent care centers, ambulance companies, wound care centers, allergy centers. The list goes on.

Many older physicians have a "golden parachute" and can afford to retire from clinical practice or go to cash only or just stop seeing patients with insurance that reimburses poorly. We are likely going to see a huge wave of retirement in older physicians and many younger physicians will no longer take Medicare/Medicaid if Obamacare is not repealed. The retirements and the regulatory climate will make it much harder to find these opportunities for investment and diversification in the next few years.