Going by claims submitted to commercial insurers, radiology ranks 15th out of 18 physician specialties, according to a new report from the healthcare staffing company AMN Healthcare.
With average private-payer billings of approximately $2 million per year, radiology falls well below the all-specialty annual average, $3.8 million, the report shows:
Average annual physician billings to commercial payers by specialty
- General Surgery $11,669,016
- Orthopedic Surgery $9,809,514
- Critical Care (Intensivists) $6,677,319
- Urology $5,886,763
- Gastroenterology $5,530,221
- Otolaryngology $4,190,555
- Obstetrics/Gynecology $3,761,777
- Rheumatology $3,410,281
- Cardiology $3,406,027
- Anesthesiology $3,329,020
- Pulmonary Disease $3,123,235
- Neurology $2,780,362
- Psychiatry $2,697,461
- Internal Medicine $2,594,400
- Radiology $2,031,501
- Dermatology $1,458,214
- Family Practice $1,394,188
- Pediatric Medicine $1,323,104
Also making the list were two nonphysician provider groupings—certified registered nurse anesthetists ($1,750,281) and nurse practitioners ($777,393).
Many practices generate revenues ‘considerably higher than the remuneration they receive’
AMN further found the push for quality-based payments is still mostly aspirational: The analyzed billings reflect widespread reliance on volume, whether measured by relative value units, number of patients seen or other productivity metrics.
The report, posted April 3, does not analyze real-world amounts physicians collect. AMN notes the commonness of commercial bills getting only partially paid as insurers apply discounts or deny claims outright. Further, collection rates can vary widely by individual practice as well as specialty, the firm points out.
However, given a hypothetical collection rate of 50%, the average collection amount for all providers in the report is $1.9 million, the company suggests.
Also unaccounted for in tallies of commercial claims are revenues produced by downstream services ordered after initial diagnostic testing.
The report shows that physicians practicing in procedure-oriented specialties “consistently generate higher billing amounts than those in consultative specialties,” AMN concludes.
The project also provides an interesting measure of productivity while demonstrating that physicians and advanced practitioners “generate revenues considerably higher than the remuneration they receive.”
AMN is offering the report free in exchange for name and email here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.