projected increase in primary care salaries?

[bravotwozero]

---

Members do not see this ad.

A faculty member at my school was saying that primary care salaries are expected to go up, and specialist salaries may actually be coming down a bit. Any truth to this rumour?

 

[DdrumbumD]

supply and demand possibly could be atleast an impetus for that

 

[danzman]

While it may indeed happen, it is important to note that most DO schools are very Gen med friendly. Thus, they tend to say things like, "don't worry about those loans, primary care will always make enough to pay them off, or Primary care salary is about to explode, its those ortho guys that are about to be broke." Again, medicine can change on a dime, but people have been saying for years that primary care was going to get a big pay increase as soon as the population got old and it has yet to happen. In the end, medicare dictates salary, the market takes a subtle backseat. But anything can happen.

 

[Consigliere]

No. And anesthesiologists will always make bank!🙂

 

[group_theory]

supply and demand possibly could be atleast an impetus for that

Healthcare does not follow your typical economic model of supply and demand. There are too many factors in play (asymmetry of information, third party payers, government regulations, government as third party payers, removal of cost-benefit analysis from the direct consumers, inability to balance bill medicaid/medicare patients, etc)

 

[DdrumbumD]

Healthcare does not follow your typical economic model of supply and demand. There are too many factors in play (asymmetry of information, third party payers, government regulations, government as third party payers, removal of cost-benefit analysis from the direct consumers, inability to balance bill medicaid/medicare patients, etc)

in other words, supply and demand

 

[psy]

If the demand is high, yet the supply is limited the only other way is to allow mid levels into primary care. Health care costs money yet people want it cheap. The only way that would happen is if the standard of care decreases. But what the general public doesn't know won't hurt them...right?

 

[MossPoh]

It IS getting harder for certain specialities to make the same money as before. I have watched it over the years with radiology. It is still a lucrative field, but reading a chest xray is almost a waste of time for a radiologist now. You just have to read a lot more to make the same amount. Its not hard to read a lot more considering places like the ER shovel damn near every person with a headache or stomach cramp into the CT, but most people like to leave the hospital after 10 hours or so.

With a sample size of 1, I can tell you my dad's saturday and sunday caseload went from a busy day of 100 cases to a normal day of 150+. A busy day can break 200 cases now.

 

[facetguy]

It IS getting harder for certain specialities to make the same money as before. I have watched it over the years with radiology. It is still a lucrative field, but reading a chest xray is almost a waste of time for a radiologist now. You just have to read a lot more to make the same amount. Its not hard to read a lot more considering places like the ER shovel damn near every person with a headache or stomach cramp into the CT, but most people like to leave the hospital after 10 hours or so.

With a sample size of 1, I can tell you my dad's saturday and sunday caseload went from a busy day of 100 cases to a normal day of 150+. A busy day can break 200 cases now.

Wow. 200 cases/day is about 3-4 minutes per case, nonstop for 12 hours (no eating, no bathroom breaks, no interruptions, etc). I've never watched a radiologist work, but that seems like a hectic pace. And all done without error.

So are you saying that radiologists (in this case your Dad) are making half what they used to make? (Based on increase from 100 cases/day to 200/day, for the same money)

 

[tkim]

Its not hard to read a lot more considering places like the ER shovel damn near every person with a headache or stomach cramp into the CT, but most people like to leave the hospital after 10 hours or so.

Work a shift in the ED.

 

[woodhorse22]

This week representatives from the Illinois Osteopathic Physicians Association came to CCOM for a presentation. They also told us that they are working hard to make the primary care physicians' salaries go up because nurses in certain fields were actually making more than the PCPs. They said if salaries of PCPs don't go up then physicians will be directed away from primary care and towards specialties especially since they have so many loans accumulated after 4 years of med schools and they end up making less then nurses.

 

[olliemctuffy]

They are probably talking about CRNAs, who indeed can make 150k plus and this is more than alot of primary care docs.
Salaries in radiology will almost certainly decline as the cost of imaging services has been exploding (partially due to overuse, I can't believe how many head CTs I've seen for headaches) and also due to increasing technology and utility in medical imaging. The government will probably target diagnostic imaging services to try to limit costs. Radiologists have responded by increasing volume, but this can only go so far.