Average physician salaries according to the Bureau of Labor Services

What does the U.S. Bureau of Labor Services (BLS) report as the average salary of a physician?

http://www.graduan2u.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/salary_jobs.jpg"In 2008, physicians practicing primary care had total median annual compensation of $186,044, and physicians practicing in medical specialties earned total median annual compensation of $339,738."

Let's look at a few specific specialties, in ascending order:

General Pediatricians $161,410
Psychiatrists $163,660
Family and General Practitioners $168,550
General Internists $183,990
Obstetricians and Gynecologists $204,470
Anesthesiologists $211,750
Surgeons $219,770

Physicians and Surgeons, All Other $173,860

These BLS numbers are much lower compared to the salary survey statistics you may find through the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) or the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). For instance, the AMGA reports the average salary for Anesthesiologists as $366,640. So, who's right? I suppose we'll never know.

A discussion about physician salaries on Sermo

On Sermo, you'll find physicians (and only physicians) discussing all types of things. A recent discussion has focused on the validity of national physician salary surveys.

Here's what one physician posted on Sermo:

I've researched average physician compensation for a number of specialties, including my specialty using stats from AGMA, MGMA, and other sources. I am consistently struck by how low these figures are compared with individuals I know and others I know about.

I know the limitation of these statistics is that they usually only represent employed physicians. I thought it might be interested to see whether you believe the average income (and upper and lower ranges) for your specialty is correct, and what you think the implications are.

The reality is that most physicians voted that these numbers are inflated. In some cases, they're up by 25-30%. In other cases, over 50%. As a result of these published figures, new graduates are feeling entitled to very high salaries.

Top Ten Highest Paid Medical Specialties

Here's some data from the 2009 AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey. I got this table from National MedPoll. Do you think these numbers are accurate? If these are self-reported figures, then they could be inflated. Physician salary ranges tend to vary quite a bit based on your geography and your practice setting. Let's take a look: 

Specialty	Median Salary in 2009
Orthopedic Surgery – Spine	$641, 728
Orthopedic Surgery – Joint Replacement	$580,711
Neurological Surgery	$548,186
Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery	$507,143
Diagnostic Radiology – Interventional	$478,000
Orthopedic Surgery	$476,083
Trauma Surgery	$465,773
Orthopedic Surgery – Hand	$465,006
Diagnostic Radiology – Non-Interventional	$438,115
Transplant Surgery – Liver	$433,333

Source: 2009 AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey

Another Physician Compensation Survey

According to the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) 2008 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey, physician pay went up in 2007 by roughly 3.5%. According to this report, medical specialties that experienced the lowest increases included allergy medicine, endocrinology, pulmonary medicine and emergency medicine. With Medicare reimbursement decreasing and managed care organizations trying to push pay-for-performance (P4P) and other initiatives, physician payment is all over the map for various specialties. The survey was conducted among 44,000 health care providers, 2,700 medical groups, and 116 specialties in the United States.