Physician compensation, productivity increases

For the report, AMGA surveyed data from 459 medical groups, which include more than 189,000 providers from 197 physician, advanced practice clinician, and other provider specialties.

In 2024, the median change in overall compensation was 5.3%, up from 3.5% in 2023 and 3.7% in 2022. Radiology, anesthesiology, and pathology saw the biggest increases in median compensation in 2024 at 5.8%, while primary care saw the lowest increase at 3.6%.

The report also looked at compensation increases for the top three specialties in each major category (primary care, medical specialties, hospitalist specialties, surgical specialties, and advanced practice clinicians). 

In general, compensation increased along with related productivity for most physician specialties. However, primary care compensation has not increased as much as it did in 2021 and 2022 when CMS updated median work relative value units.

The report also looked at median net collections and found that it increased by 4.3% in 2024, down from 5.1% in 2023. The overall increase in median net collections was also lower than the overall increase in compensation in 2024. 

Commentary

"This year's survey results are noteworthy in numerous areas," said Fred Horton, president of AMGA Consulting. "We are seeing significant productivity increases, which, in essence, drove the compensation increases across specialties."

However, net collections are not keeping pace with necessary compensation growth, according to Horton.  

"This issue, especially related to Medicare payment updates, must be addressed in order for organizations to afford necessary increases in compensation without continually relying on a need for providers to see more patients," Horton said. "If not addressed, many groups will soon be in a very challenging position in relation to work-life balance, burnout, and provider satisfaction."

"Another key finding is that primary care, which has seen strong increases in compensation over the past few years, had the lowest increases of the major specialty categories, as well as negative compensation per wRVU changes," he added. Given the primary care productivity increases, coupled with minimal compensation increases, their compensation/wRVU ratio actually decreased from past years.

According to Healthcare Finance, the report's findings are part of a larger trend in healthcare. A similar report from the Medical Group Management Association found that physician compensation has increased year over year, due to growth in productivity and the use of artificial intelligence.

As providers continue to recover from economic and staffing challenges, physicians are currently being pushed toward higher productivity more than they were during 2021 and 2022, right after the start of the pandemic. (Lagasse, Healthcare Finance, 9/12; Gliadkovskaya, Fierce Healthcare, 9/10; American Medical Group Association, 7/12)

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