How does non-interventional cards get paid so much

[Strength&Speed]

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I'm seeing high 300's low 400's for non-interventional jobs. How?

 

[Myostatin]

Echos, among other imaging modalities, are well reimbursed. Those numbers are probably from the south or midwest though. I don't think non-invasive pays\ is that high on the coasts.

 

[dragonfly99]

That sounds high even for the South, where I live. I suppose if someone is in private practice and they really crank on the noninvasive procedures and work long hours/lots of patients, maybe it could be true. It sounds awfully high, though.

 

[kingofhearts]

While on the higher end, these starting salaries are not at all unheard of for a non-interventional/EP cardiologist. As mentioned before, echo and SPECT still pay fairly well and can be done in high volumes. Cardiac CT is continuing to take off; many larger practices own a multislice CT scanner. Also, many non-invasive cardiologists are also trained in peripheral vascular ultrasound. Finally, some non-EP cardiologists implant devices. This is all on top of the fees for a consultation, and there is NEVER a shortage of patients who require a cardiovascular consultation.

I would point out that cardiologists who are in these higher income brackets work their a$$es to make this income. As with every medical field, higher salaries tend to be seen in more remote areas with small but extremely busy practices and good payer mixes. Many of us choose to accept a more moderate salary to live in a more cosmopolitan area, have less call or be in a larger group that allows one to occupy a particular professional niche. When you see a high starting salary, look carefully at the particulars of the job.

 

[copacetic]

as far as i know, cardiologists are blessed with a field in which you can do alot of porcedures. Its the perfect combination of thinking and doing, and thats what makes it so attractive to so many people. its constant stimulation. they are gifted with being able to do echos, ct imaging, stress tests, that sort of thing. you dont have to be interventional to make bank. there are tons of non-interventional guys up here in Canada who bill 1 million a year doing nothing but echos all day. then there are the interventional guys who as f_W once said: whats bad about IC is that "The fact that you stand in the cath-lab at 2 am wearing a silly lead skirt and getting your nuts irradiated while your non-interventional colleagues are snoozing in their 6bdrm 7bath mansion on doctors row."