News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
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Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel
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Medscape Report on Physician Salaries in 2020 Shows Pathologists at Middle in Pay, but Near Top in Job Satisfaction

May 7, 2021 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily

Though pathology salaries rank 16th among 29 medical specialties, it is in the top 10 among specialties that attract women and respondents say that comes with a lot of paperwork

Despite “hardships” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, 18,000 physicians in more than 29 medical specialties who participated in Medscape’s 2021 Physician Compensation Report said that, overall, their 2020 income was similar to prior years. Pathologists reported earnings in 2020 of $316,000, $28,000 below the average specialist’s salary of $344,000.

The average pathologist’s salary ranked 16th among medical specialty salaries.

Compared to 2019, medical specialists on average made $2,000 less in 2020. The average salary for primary care doctors was $242,000 in 2020, down $1,000 from 2019, according to a Medscape news release.

“Physicians experienced a challenging year on numerous fronts, including weathering the volatile financial impact of lockdowns,” said Leslie Kane, Senior Director, Medscape Business of Medicine, in the news release. “Our report shows that many were able to pivot to use telemedicine and focus on tactics that would protect their practices.”

Medscape, a health information provider that is part of the WebMD network, said that in addition to telehealth, doctors turned to MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) value-based payment reward programs and other strategies to minimize the effects of office closures last year.

“COVID took a terrible emotional toll on physicians and healthcare workers, and many are still struggling financially, but our findings showed that physicians will innovate and change quickly to meet the needs of patients through extremely difficult times,” said Leslie Kane (above), Senior Director, Medscape’s Business of Medicine, in the news release. Pathologists who were at the center of the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response would likely echo her sentiments. (Photo copyright: Medscape.)

Pathology Salary Unchanged

To complete its study, Medscape asked physicians to take a 10-minute online survey. The reported findings included responses from 17,903 physicians (61% male, 36% female) practicing in more than 29 specialties between October 2020 and February 2021.

Pathologists who participated in the survey reported no change in their annual salary since 2019. Other specialties that reported no salary change include:

  • Family medicine,
  • Infectious diseases,
  • Ophthalmology, and
  • Orthopedics/orthopedic surgery.

Top 10 Medical Specialty Salaries

Medscape’s report listed these top-10 medical specialties as earning the highest salaries (see the graphic below for the full list of medical specialties surveyed):

Specialist Salary Increases and Decreases

Contrary to what many specialists reported, plastic surgeons did not experience slowdowns in appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, not only did plastic surgeons earn the most, at 10% they are the medical specialists who got the biggest increase in pay of previous years as well.

According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), which conducted its own salary survey of its member surgeons, “70% of AAFPRS surgeons report an increase in bookings and treatments over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nine in 10 facial plastic surgeons indicating an increase of more than 10%. Surgical procedures are the most common procedures as part of this upsurge, perhaps cancelling out any decreases that might have resulted from the economic crisis and lockdowns.”

Other specialist salaries which Medscape found increased in 2020 include:

  • Oncology: up 7%
  • Rheumatology and cardiology: up 5%
  • Diabetes/endocrinology: up 4%
  • Neurology, critical care, psychiatry: up 3%
  • General surgery, urology, public health/preventive medicine: up 2%

Medical specialties that reported reductions in salary included:

  • Otolaryngology and allergy/immunology: down 9%
  • Pediatrics and anesthesiology: down 5%
  • Dermatology: down 4%
  • Pulmonary medicine, physical medicine, gastroenterology, and radiology: down 3%
  • Emergency medicine and internal medicine: down 1%

About 92% of physicians surveyed indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused their income to decline. Also, 22% of doctors noted they experienced loss of work hours.

Pathologists Received Low Average Bonuses

Reporting on receipt of incentive bonuses, Medscape ranked pathology in the bottom half of its list with $42,000 as an average bonus. The top incentive bonuses went to those practicing:

  • Orthopedics/orthopedics surgery: $116,000
  • Ophthalmology: $87,000
  • Otolaryngology: $72,000

About 59% of primary care physicians and 55% of specialists surveyed reported receiving an incentive bonus.

Pathologists Rank High in Job Satisfaction

In responding to a question about compensation, pathologists ranked near the top (seventh position) with 64% saying they are content with their pay. Others expressing salary satisfaction included:

  • Oncology: 79%
  • Psychiatry: 69%
  • Plastic surgery: 68%
  • Dermatology: 67%
  • Public health/preventive medicine: 66%
  • Radiology: 65%
  • Pathology: 64%

Pathology Popular Among Women MDs

Medscape found that women MDs chose certain medical specialties more often than others, including pathology, which ranked eighth. The top eight specialties employing female physicians are:

  • Pediatrics: 61%
  • Obstetrics/gynecology: 59%
  • Diabetes/endocrinology: 50%
  • Family medicine: 47%
  • Dermatology: 46%
  • Infectious diseases: 46%
  • Internal medicine: 44%
  • Pathology: 43%

Specialties with the fewest female physicians are:

  • Plastic and general surgery: 20%
  • Cardiology: 14%
  • Urology: 11%
  • Orthopedics/orthopedics surgery: 9%

Pathology a Leader in Paperwork

Medscape also surveyed physicians as to the estimated hours they spend per week on paperwork and administration. Here, pathology ranked the fifth highest with 19%, while radiologists and hospital-based physicians were third from the bottom with 11.6%.

Specialists that reported the highest hours spent on paperwork include:

  • Infectious diseases: 24%
  • Public health/preventive medicine: 20.7%
  • Nephrology: 19.8%
  • Internal medicine: 19.7%
  • Pathology: 19%

If They Could Do It Again, Most Would

Amid a trying year, the Medscape survey respondents made an encouraging point: 78% of them said they would choose medicine as a career again. And 85% of pathologists said they would choose the same specialty.

Medscape’s report may be helpful to hospital-based clinical laboratory leaders preparing salary budgets and to pathologists in salary negotiations and determining professional responsibilities.

—Donna Marie Pocius

Related Information:

Medscape Physician Compensation Report: The Recovery Begins 2021

Medscape Physician Compensation Report Shows Salaries Held Steady Despite Pandemic

A Pandemic of Dysmorphia: “Zooming” into the Perception of Our Appearance

AAFPRS Announces annual Survey Results, A Look at How COVID-19 Disrupted Facial Plastic Surgery

Top 10 Rankings of EHR Market Share Put Epic First as Hospitals, Physicians, and Clinical Laboratories Make Progress on Interoperability

Aug 29, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized

In both the hospital market and the ambulatory market, Epic has the best-selling electronic health records system, according to data issued by ONCHIT

Across the nation, clinical laboratories and pathology groups are busy interfacing their laboratory information (LIS) systems to the electronic health record (EHR) systems of their client hospitals and physicians. Yet, few lab managers know which EHR systems are dominating the market and which EHR systems are barely surviving.

In fact, it can be a challenge to understand market share by vendor. That is because market share can be determined in multiple ways. Dark Daily found three different rankings of EHR vendors. Each was based on slightly different sets of data. (more…)

Some Hospital-based Physician Pay Trends Identified by Becker’s Hospital Review Could Play to Pathology’s ‘Sweet Spot’

Jun 11, 2014 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Savvy pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals will look for ways to generate increased value to clinicians by becoming partners and consultants in clinical decisions

Becker’s Hospital Review has identified seven trends in hospital-based physician pay that have emerged over the past several years. These trends reflect fundamental changes in the private practice of medicine and will be of interest to those pathologists and clinical laboratory managers who provide medical laboratory tests to office-based physicians.

As defined by Becker’s in a story published last year, the seven trends indicate shifts in income, along with increasing numbers of physicians migrating out of private practice to salaried hospital positions. Pathologists will want to keep these trends in mind as they plan their personal careers, taking special note of emerging opportunities to generate value in new ways. (more…)

Physicians Use Fitness Trackers to Monitor Patients in Real-time, Even as Developers Work to Incorporate Medical Laboratory Tests into the Devices

May 28, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can expect that physicians will want to incorporate digital remote patient monitoring into their clinical practices

Swift advances in technology devoted to fitness-tracking devices used by consumers are creating opportunities for physicians to tap that data to remotely monitor their patients. These pioneering efforts show how even medical laboratory testing functions might eventually be incorporated in these fitness tracking products.

Of course, these devices were created for non-clinical functions. But they do allow doctors to get real-time looks at a patient’s vital signs outside of the traditional office visit. Using these consumer electronic devices for medical purposes is part of the larger trend of marshalling technology to produce better patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. (more…)

John Hopkins Researchers Demonstrate Hydrogen Peroxide’s Effectiveness in Preventing HAIs, May Have Use in Clinical Pathology Laboratories

Feb 6, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

The study found that a Robotic vapor-dispersing device kills and prevents spread of Drug-Resistant Organisms in high-risk patients by 64%

There is a new technology for disinfecting healthcare facilities that is likely to be useful for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups.

A team at Johns Hopkins University Hospital recently published a study about their institution’s use of hydrogen peroxide vapor to disinfect hospital rooms.

The study was conducted over two and one-half years and involved hospital rooms used by thousands of patients. The goal of this study was to verify the effectiveness of a new robot-like device, known as Bioquell Q-10. This system disperses a hydrogen peroxide vapor to disinfect hospital rooms and was described in a news release issued by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University Hospital. (more…)

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