Radiology the top specialty in compensation per hour, new AMA survey says

[Taurus]

Radiology is the top specialty in compensation per hour, according to new survey data from the American Medical Association.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[sloh]

Radiology is one specialty I never hear attendings say they regret choosing

On another note, do you think that since this information is now publicly available, it might put a target on radiology's back? Like the government deciding to decrease their rates

Booker noted that the results could have “substantial implications” on how money is divided among different specialties and between components of the relative value unit.

Booker also highlighted practice-expense funding as another key component of the survey’s findings. This element is “particularly important” in radiology, since it makes up a large portion of total imaging reimbursement. The AMA has now calculated new practice-expense-per-physician-hour rates as part of the survey process. Booker noted that these rates are directly responsible for setting indirect practice-expense funding—an amount comprising 70% of total practice-expense funs in imaging.

“Many specialty surveys saw an increase in PE/hr compared to 2006. Diagnostic radiology experienced a rise in both direct and indirect rates,” Booker noted. “However, because additional funding has not been committed to fund these increases, changes to practice-expense reimbursement will rely on how that specialty performed relative to all other specialties. Due to the way practice expense is calculated, the indirect PE/hr has a particularly large impact as it informs the only specialty-specific budget neutrality adjustment, the Indirect Practice Cost Index.”

 

[Cognovi]

Neurosurgery lucked out that their specialty is so small, they were not included in the survey. We all know their compensation is the highest per hour.

 

[GadRads]

Neurosurgeons get paid the most per hour by far. The average neurosurgeon in my hospital makes 1.5 to 2 million+ routinely. The radiologists who cross 700K have to do a lot of moonlighting. I would love to make $2 million, but I don’t enjoy surgery.

Radiology is a grind. If we worked at a normal pace like the rest of medicine, our pay would be much less. My last 7 hr call shift was crazy busy and I had to read 50+ CTs and nearly 100 X-rays and US with a few MRs. Zero downtime. Level 1 trauma and tertiary teaching hospital with some complicated cases.

The best things about radiology are limited patient contact, interesting pathology and option for remote work. Doing radiology with the hope of routinely having lots of downtime is a pipe dream (unless you are a very fast reader and able to meet the required reading volumes of your job, or work at the VA or Kaiser).

 

[SeisK]

1.5 to 2 million+

The job offers I’ve seen neurosurgeons talk about don’t come close to this. While i dont doubt they may have a higher pay rate per hour (hard to call highly subsidized call availability as work or not), I’m quite certain it doesn’t go near that high. And I doubt there’s any numbers based, and little anecdotal evidence, to back up that figure.

 

[Melkor]

The job offers I’ve seen neurosurgeons talk about don’t come close to this.

2 mill+ might be stretching the average neurosurg comp but I would be very surprised if its not at least 1.1-1.5 mill avg comp.

Even though we don't hit those average numbers, rads is still a pretty good and chill specialty. Would definitely do it again.

Neurosurg residency is too brutal and long. Ortho doing large joints or spine for near neurosurg salary could be good I suppose. Not many other specialties can make 1.5+ mill though so if you're not doing those 2, you might as well do rads and have low stress work with 18+ weeks off.

 

[MadRadLad]

2 mill+ might be stretching the average neurosurg comp but I would be very surprised if its not at least 1.1-1.5 mill avg comp.

Even though we don't hit those average numbers, rads is still a pretty good and chill specialty. Would definitely do it again.

Neurosurg residency is too brutal and long. Ortho doing large joints or spine for near neurosurg salary could be good I suppose. Not many other specialties can make 1.5+ mill though so if you're not doing those 2, you might as well do rads and have low stress work with 18+ weeks off.

Yeah this doesn't differentiate quality of life differences having a hot cup of coffee in your pajamas in your nice little home office suite vs sweating on a 2 hour case turned 5 hours at 11pm. And there is going to be a lot of rough days and nights in residency even if you get a cush spine attending job, not to mention building up the practice early takes work as well. A lot of that difference will be lost to tax too, not that 200-400k extra net is insignificant, but it changes your life a lot less than the first 200k.

 

[GadRads]

2 mill+ might be stretching the average neurosurg comp but I would be very surprised if its not at least 1.1-1.5 mill avg comp.

Even though we don't hit those average numbers, rads is still a pretty good and chill specialty. Would definitely do it again.

Neurosurg residency is too brutal and long. Ortho doing large joints or spine for near neurosurg salary could be good I suppose. Not many other specialties can make 1.5+ mill though so if you're not doing those 2, you might as well do rads and have low stress work with 18+ weeks off.

I wouldn’t describe radiology as low stress. The consequences for a big miss can be significant. I don’t get 18 weeks off. Average in my area is 8-12 weeks.

 

[Melkor]

I wouldn’t describe radiology as low stress. The consequences for a big miss can be significant. I don’t get 18 weeks off. Average in my area is 8-12 weeks.

Ehh, I don't really get stressed out about misses but understand it can be a significant stressor.

At 8-12 weeks I hope the group averages at least 850-900k. Last year I took around 12 weeks instead of the groups average of 18 but hit 1 mill instead of 750k. I'll admit I'm fortunate that east/west coast are not me or my so's jam so jobs are probably better than average.

 

[Taurus]

If a rad and neurosurgeon make the same, I would rather be the rad because the rad is most likely working from the comfort of their homes in their PJ’s and drinking coffee while the neurosurgeon is busting their tail operating, standing in one spot for 6-12 hours at a time without potty breaks. The career longevity of a rad is longer than a neurosurgeon for sure. Some of the fastest and best rads I’ve met are in their 70’s because they are so freaking efficient; they know what’s important and what’s not and what to put into reports.

Btw, my 2024 take home pay would make most neurosurgeons drool and I spent a lot of it working from home and I put far fewer hours than a neurosurgeon. If they did a national survey, I’m willing to bet that the highest earning work from home professional in the US is the radiologist.

 

[sloh]

With remote/tele, can’t rads hit 1M even living on the west or east coast?

Also, that post above about neurosurgeons standing in one fixed spot/position operating for long periods of time is under appreciated. Leads to a lot of occupational musculoskeletal issues like cervical radiculopathy and accelerated development of osteoarthritis in the neck/cervical region. Similar to dentists.

 

[TexasMed22]

The above MSK point is highly underrated. The physical damage done by many surgical and procedural fields is under discussed. IMO this is why rads/derm/onc are the kings for career longevity.

 

[GadRads]

Ehh, I don't really get stressed out about misses but understand it can be a significant stressor.

At 8-12 weeks I hope the group averages at least 850-900k. Last year I took around 12 weeks instead of the groups average of 18 but hit 1 mill instead of 750k. I'll admit I'm fortunate that east/west coast are not me or my so's jam so jobs are probably better than average.

I am on the coasts where the jobs relatively suck.

I also don’t get too stressed by misses, but I try to do the right thing for each patient. Not a slow reader either.

 

[hopefulraddaddypls]

Neurosurgeons get paid the most per hour by far. The average neurosurgeon in my hospital makes 1.5 to 2 million+ routinely. The radiologists who cross 700K have to do a lot of moonlighting. I would love to make $2 million, but I don’t enjoy surgery.

Radiology is a grind. If we worked at a normal pace like the rest of medicine, our pay would be much less. My last 7 hr call shift was crazy busy and I had to read 50+ CTs and nearly 100 X-rays and US with a few MRs. Zero downtime. Level 1 trauma and tertiary teaching hospital with some complicated cases.

The best things about radiology are limited patient contact, interesting pathology and option for remote work. Doing radiology with the hope of routinely having lots of downtime is a pipe dream (unless you are a very fast reader and able to meet the required reading volumes of your job, or work at the VA or Kaiser).

You sound incredibly soft and out of touch. My IM peeps and IM subspecialists are constantly running around the hospital 10 hrs a day often skipping lunch

 

[RetinaDude]

Neurosurgeons get paid the most per hour by far. The average neurosurgeon in my hospital makes 1.5 to 2 million+ routinely. The radiologists who cross 700K have to do a lot of moonlighting. I would love to make $2 million, but I don’t enjoy surgery.

Radiology is a grind. If we worked at a normal pace like the rest of medicine, our pay would be much less. My last 7 hr call shift was crazy busy and I had to read 50+ CTs and nearly 100 X-rays and US with a few MRs. Zero downtime. Level 1 trauma and tertiary teaching hospital with some complicated cases.

The best things about radiology are limited patient contact, interesting pathology and option for remote work. Doing radiology with the hope of routinely having lots of downtime is a pipe dream (unless you are a very fast reader and able to meet the required reading volumes of your job, or work at the VA or Kaiser).

I think neurosurgeons work a lot of hours so I doubt they make the most per hour. There are other specialties who make this kind of money, and more, but don’t work anywhere near the hours of a neurosurgeon.

Also, for everyone, be cautious of these salary surveys, even the ones from the AMA. I learned a long time ago to never fill out these surveys because the last people I want to know how much my specialty earns are the AMA (not specialist friendly, IMHO) nor the government (already enough trouble fighting decreased Medicare reimbursements every year).

 

[GadRads]

You sound incredibly soft and out of touch. My IM peeps and IM subspecialists are constantly running around the hospital 10 hrs a day often skipping lunch

Hello little one, have you finished medical school or intern year? Have you even started radiology residency? I completed a busy academic IM prelim year routinely working 80 hrs a week and it was still intellectually easier than radiology residency. I am one of the higher RVU-generating radiologists in my department, so to use words/phrases like soft and out of touch just shows your ignorance and naïveté. Which soft radiologist can read 60-70+ CTs/MRs (not many CT heads here) with 50-60 plain films and ultrasounds in 9 hrs at a level I tertiary center? Come back to this post when you are qualified to say anything. You are clueless.

 

[jambro]

Ehh, I don't really get stressed out about misses but understand it can be a significant stressor.

At 8-12 weeks I hope the group averages at least 850-900k. Last year I took around 12 weeks instead of the groups average of 18 but hit 1 mill instead of 750k. I'll admit I'm fortunate that east/west coast are not me or my so's jam so jobs are probably better than average.

How many wrvus is your group doing?

 

[Melkor]

How many wrvus is your group doing?

Avg of around 15k/rad, including mammo.

 

[Student189045]

I wasn't able to find the detailed methodology of the study, but the way the data is broken down into "practice expense" and "physician work" make me strongly suspect they purely calculated this number off of professional fees and totally ignored facility fee or other ancillary income, of which surgeons make hundreds of thousands and radiologists make minimal to none (imaging centers are not in the same league as ASC in terms of profitability, and few radiologists even have ownership in them). Even so, purely by professional fees radiology still wouldn't be the top, it would be mohs or retina who are wRVU kings, but the study only listed very broad groupings of specialties (hospital based surgery, vascular, and ortho were the only surgical categories?).

The worst part? The purpose of this is to share with CMS to help with the 2025 fee schedule, one can only hope they don't misinterpret that number like the above article did or radiology is going to be unnecessarily attacked.

Nsg, spine, CT surg, retina, and mohs are all the highest earners/hr in medicine