fm income

[anxietypeaker]

hi was wondering why is it that FM income is usually lower than peds or im. It seems to me that a physician able to see young and old would have a larger patient base...whats up? Some possible reasons im COMPLETELEY guessing is:

1) FM work less hours...but i thgouht the hours were really really close with IM?
2) No hospital stuff for some groups...although i thought no traveling to the hospital would = see more office patients = more money....?
3) FM tend to see more patients with medicaid/medicare...but then i thought that IM has a lot of these patients too...?
4) IM docs tend to add procedures to their practice...but FMs also like doing that too i though?
5)h yea, i also heard that group practices with greater than 5 physicians (assuming sufficient patient base) in typical areas are able to bring in the average easily with good hours. Is practice structure one possible reason for the disparity between fm vs. other pcps

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. In essence,do FM docs have lower salaries on surveys because of their own decisions or because of something thats out of their hands.

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[SDN]

Your stats are incorrect, which is why you're having a hard-time figuring it out.

 

[anxietypeaker]

http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries.htm

http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_physician_compensation_survey.htm

www.bls.gov (the compensation survey for physicians and surgeons)

 

[Dr Trek 1]

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone choses a specialty based on the salary.

There are other reasons why primary care is unpopular.

 

[deleted87716]

The salary ranges for primary care specialties on the sites that you cited are so close as to be negligible. I certainly wouldn't read anything into any minor differences, as there are far too many variables involved.

Relating to your final question, primary care physicians have more control over their practice choices than practically any other specialty, should they choose to exercise it.

 

[sophiejane]

http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_physician_compensation_survey.htm

I wonder why the salaries seem to be higher in the south for almost every specialty?

 

[Dr Trek 1]

Supply and demand. There are less physicians in the south/rural areas. Higher need for physicians.

 

[f_w]

I wonder why the salaries seem to be higher in the south for almost every specialty?

Because you have to pay most people extra to live in the south.

 

[sophiejane]

Because you have to pay most people extra to live in the south.

Ha ha. Fine. More land for me.

 

[sophiejane]

Supply and demand. There are less physicians in the south/rural areas. Higher need for physicians.

So that means insurance reimbursements are higher in the south? What about medicare/medicaid??

 

[skypilot]

I have read that the pay in the South is higher because there is less managed care.

I suppose another factor might be the lower overhead (cheaper heat, rent and ancillary staff) expense leads to larger gross profit.

 

[sophiejane]

(cheaper heat, rent and ancillary staff) expense leads to larger gross profit.

Heat?? You're not from around here, are ya?

 

[allendo]

Heat?? You're not from around here, are ya?

no need for heat in Tx b/c there is not a Winter!

 

[Jack Daniel]

no need for heat in Tx b/c there is not a Winter!

It gets pretty darn cold in those Piney woods of Texas in the middle of January.

 

[AstalaFP]

I was told Minnesota etc pays more.
Which state pays more in south
Tax same every where i mean federal right
So why work more. The more you earn the more tax

 

[deleted87716]

Lots of factors result in geographic differences in physician income (and not just in family medicine): cost of living (which also affects overhead and employee wages), relative difficulty of recruiting/retention of physicians, malpractice insurance costs, insurance reimbursements (also geographically variable), competition, etc.

I don't recommend going to a specific geographic area just for the money any more than I would recommend choosing a medical specialty just for the money.

Pick a field you enjoy, and live in a locale you enjoy. Life's too short.

 

[mike0001]

IM docs make more money because they are smarter than the FP docs. FP docs are just GP

 

[skypilot]

IM docs make more money because they are smarter than the FP docs. FP docs are just GP

Thou shalt be banned for a lame attempt to troll.

 

[PublicHealth]

Is VA pay for FM really in this range?:

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/ge...rd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=0&SUBMIT1.y=0

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/ge...rd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=0&SUBMIT1.y=0

If so, do FM docs start at $80-90K/year and then top out at $120-140K/year?

 

[deleted87716]

Is VA pay for FM really in this range?

Well, if that's what the job listing says, then it's probably so. It's no secret that any physician will make less money working for the government than they could in private practice. People who are in the military or working for the government aren't doing it for the bucks.

 

[SDN]

Uggh, VA. They pay much lower than standard.

 

[NDMD]

Family docs doing OB can easily make $250K+ after a few years in the upper midwest (MN, IA, ND, SD, WI, etc). I know two docs that completed residency last year that were offered a base salary of $150K and a signing bonus of $25K plus loan foregiveness. Both positions were in cities with a population of approximately 50,000. I've heard of others being offered even more but can't substantiate the info. There is a lot of money to be made in FM in rural areas.

 

[cfdavid]

I was told Minnesota etc pays more.
Which state pays more in south
Tax same every where i mean federal right
So why work more. The more you earn the more tax

Just buy some rental properties and "lose" money on them year after year. I mean, all those "improvements" (that really went into YOUR house) were very costly. They resulted in your losses, which you use to offset your income.......