HOPD with In-office lab?

[ucp1980]

This may sound condescending to a seasoned Patho, but my answer here is generally aimed at the younger audience: Start with being good at what you do, and making sure people (ie clients) know the value you provide. build trust, set expectations, and don't waiver or compromise. Build alliances within your community to facilitate mutually beneficial competitive insurance contracts (without necessarily price fixing ;-))

Try to avoid any group that isn't physician owned, if you can still find those practices.

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[octopusprime]

The frog has now been thoroughly boiled when $750K in 2023 dollars is the exemplar of “greed”. That was a very good (not great) figure in 1990.

no need to remind us.

 

[octopusprime]

This may sound condescending to a seasoned Patho, but my answer here is generally aimed at the younger audience: Start with being good at what you do, and making sure people (ie clients) know the value you provide. build trust, set expectations, and don't waiver or compromise. Build alliances within your community to facilitate mutually beneficial competitive insurance contracts (without necessarily price fixing ;-))

Try to avoid any group that isn't physician owned, if you can still find those practices.

I guess that's good advice until mike chimes in and reminds us all of the downward spiral in pathology revenue. My wife's uncle was a path in that period and said he routinely made into 7 figures; rural-ish midwest location. And didn't break a sweat.

I understand there's ultimately nothing we can do about it now, and plenty of other fields have faced the same trajectory, but comparing my income to non-physicians and non-pathologists just makes me feel slightly less frustrated. Perhaps some paths can reach the front of the train and enjoy a better income/lifestyle, but the train itself is still hurdling closer to the cliff.

In what other field/profession do members face annual 10-20% pay cuts, only to be relieved when it's only 5-10% at the 11th hour?
What other field/profession do members make less in 2023 than their predecessors from just a few decades ago, in UNADJUSTED dollars?
Between the income dwindling, the skyrocketing cost of education ($250,000 avg?), insanely high loan rates, and the ever increasing volume just to offset reimbursement losses, I wouldn't recommend pathology to anyone, let alone medicine.

 

[Dave CX]

True. Just keeping our fingers crossed that someone doesn't come along and offer our overlords something cheaper.
So what is the optimal practice situation, at least before we save a lot and diversify with other income streams? Don't want to keep moving and begging to try to maintain my standard of living, such as it is.

First idea of mine is to show some humility and not trash someone else's good situation. I do GI only now after many years in hospital PP and I love it.

 

[KeratinPearls]

I guess that's good advice until mike chimes in and reminds us all of the downward spiral in pathology revenue. My wife's uncle was a path in that period and said he routinely made into 7 figures; rural-ish midwest location. And didn't break a sweat.

I understand there's ultimately nothing we can do about it now, and plenty of other fields have faced the same trajectory, but comparing my income to non-physicians and non-pathologists just makes me feel slightly less frustrated. Perhaps some paths can reach the front of the train and enjoy a better income/lifestyle, but the train itself is still hurdling closer to the cliff.

In what other field/profession do members face annual 10-20% pay cuts, only to be relieved when it's only 5-10% at the 11th hour?
What other field/profession do members make less in 2023 than their predecessors from just a few decades ago, in UNADJUSTED dollars?
Between the income dwindling, the skyrocketing cost of education ($250,000 avg?), insanely high loan rates, and the ever increasing volume just to offset reimbursement losses, I wouldn't recommend pathology to anyone, let along medicine.

So what careers would you recommend? Not everyone can get into tech after college, if you think tech is the answer. Plus with all the tech layoffs, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Some medical specialities still pay very well. I mean if my kid was smart enough to get into a high paying medical specialty (and truly loved it) I’d recommend it. The docs I know do better than most other nondocs that I know. I wouldn’t recommend my kid to go into pathology though lol.

 

[mike-sheree]

This has been happening for decades. It is simply the fact that more and more pathologists are now (or will soon be) employed by entities that they are not equity owners of (or do not have the potential to become an owner). Medical economics have inexorably forced this employment situation on the field. Private ownership model, with rare exception, will disappear. As an employee one will never, or only to a limited degree, share in the “profits“
beyond a miserly “profit sharing“ distribution.