Radiologists are the 6th highest paid specialists at $498,000
Radiologists are the sixth highest paid physician specialists in medicine with average annual earnings of $498,000, according to new data from Medscape released Friday.
Orthopedists ($558,000), plastic surgeons ($536,000) and cardiologists ($525,000) accounted for the top three, the news outlet noted. The results are based on a survey of 7,000 physicians across 30 specialties conducted between October and January.
Radiologists saw their pay rise 3%—alongside cardiologists, internal medicine specialists and general surgeons—since the last Medscape poll. Meanwhile, physical medicine and rehab specialists saw the largest year-over-year gains at 11%, followed by neurologists (10%) and nephrologists (9%).
On average, U.S. physician compensation grew 3% last year, continuing a trend of rising pay amid fierce competition for talent.
“Since we came out of COVID, physicians have been back in the driver’s seat where job offers and contract negotiations are concerned,” Jeff Decker, president of AMN Healthcare’s physician solutions division, told Medscape.
Specialists earned about 44% more on average than primary care doctors, adding to the 42% gap seen in 2022. This included an average bonus of about $51,000 for the latter when compared to $27,000 for PCPs and $45,000 across all physicians.
About 57% of the 200-plus radiologists surveyed said they feel happy about their compensation, also placing the specialty sixth among those surveyed. Public health led the way at 65% followed by dermatology (65%) and psychiatry (62%). On the other end of the list, only 34% of infectious disease specialists said they are happy with their pay, followed by endocrinologists and ophthalmologists (both 36%).
You can read more about Medscape’s findings at the link below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.