Reimbursment in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine

[NaughtyGirl]

I noticed that internal medicine physicians (internists) tend to get paid slightly higher than family medicine physicians.

This seems strange to me since family physicians tend to do more procedures such as skin biopsy, circumcision in babies, colonoscopies, endoscopy, splinting/casting, and vasectomy. I thought increasing procedures increases money for the practice.

So why is this?

Do internal medicine physicians have access to higher paying CPT codes?

Thank you for explaining this to me. I know very little of the medical business.

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[Frugal Traveler]

Likely multifactorial.

If FMED dabbles in OBGYN, then malpractice insurance will increase. They also take care of children (the statute of limitations varies by states but can be troublesome).

FMED does not do colonoscopies, vasectomy, endoscopy, circumcision, or skin biopsies (at least where I live).

The highest medicaid payment for splinting/casting for pediatrics patient involves "piggy backing" a broken toe... $ 90.

Honestly, I do not know why the pay difference... I would guess insurance reason from dabbling where dabbling can be expensive in court.