Radiologists earn $419K per year, up 4% from 2018

Michael Walter | | Radiology Business | Economics
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that between 2017 and 2019 the number of non-physician providers (NPPs, which includes nurse practitioners and physician assistants) employed by radiology only practices increased 18%. This increase was associated with more NPPs employed per practice, as well as an 11% increase in the number of practices employing them. 

Radiologists earn an average of $419,000 per year, according to Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report 2019. This makes radiology tied with dermatology for No. 5 among all specialties, trailing only cardiology, otolaryngology, plastic surgery and orthopedics.

The report includes feedback from more than 19,000 physicians representing more than 30 specialties, and 4% of respondents were from radiology. Data was collected between Oct. 25, 2018, and Feb. 14, 2019.

Overall, the average physician salary for 2019 is $313,000. Primary care physicians answered that they make $237,000 per year. Specialists, on the other hand, take home $341,000 per year.

“Survey respondents were asked to report their compensation for patient care,” according to the report. “For employed physicians, that includes salary, bonus and profit-sharing contributions. For partners, it includes earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses before income taxes. Only full-time salaries are included in our results.”

Other key findings specifically related to radiology include:

  • A total of 21% of physicians in radiology are women, making it one of the lowest-ranking specialties when it comes to gender equality. Women represent more than half of all physicians in two specialties: OB-GYN and pediatrics.
  • The report asked respondents if they feel fairly compensated, and 66% of radiologists answered that they do.
  • While 74% of radiologists say they would choose medicine again, one of the lowest overall totals among all specialties, 92% of those who said they would choose medicine again indicated they would stick with radiology.
  • The average annual salary for radiologists is up 4% compared to Medscape’s annual report from 2018.

The full report is available here. Coverage of 2018’s Medscape Physician Compensation Report is available here

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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