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CardioExchange, an NEJM practice community for medical professionals dedicated to improving cardiac patient care, was active from 2009 to 2015. CardioExchange fostered discussion between clinicians from across the globe.

April 28th, 2011

U.S. Cardiologists Report $325,000 Median Compensation in Survey

Cardiologists were the third-highest-paid physician specialists in 2010, according to a survey of more than 15,000 physicians conducted by Medscape, including a detailed report on the approximately 475 cardiologists in the survey. The cardiologists reported a median compensation of $325,000. Only orthopedic surgeons and radiologists, at a median of $350,000, topped the cardiologists. One-fifth of cardiologists said they made more than $500,000.

Almost half of cardiologists reported making as much money in 2010 as in 2009, but about a third said that their income declined rather than increased in 2010. More interventional cardiologists than preventive cardiologists reported a decline in earnings. The report attributed this difference to cuts in Medicare reimbursement for cardiology procedures and tests and increases for patient visits.

Male cardiologists earned significantly more than female cardiologists ($340,000 vs. $249,000). The report provides many additional details about variation in compensation according to geographical location and practice setting.

Forty-six percent of cardiologists surveyed said they were fairly compensated, 66% said they would choose medicine again as a career, and 75% said they would choose the same specialty.

A prior survey from the Medical Group Management Association reported very high starting salaries and recruiting bonuses for new cardiologists, while a study in Health Affairs found an overwhelming lifetime advantage in wealth accumulation for cardiologists and other highly paid specialists over other physicians.

 

 

 

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4 Responses to “U.S. Cardiologists Report $325,000 Median Compensation in Survey”

  1. Christopher Droogan, D.O. says:
    April 29, 2011 at 5:30 pm

    does anyone know what the mean wRVU is for cardiologists, in particular the ones who responded to this survey?

  2. Westby G Fisher, MD says:
    April 29, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    Wow. 3.47% (15,794 of 455,000) of doctors are surveyed across twenty-two subspecialties and is held as authoritative data. Impressive.

    Perhaps a better question to ask is who funded this poor study and what was their motivation for publishing these data as gospel?

    Competing interests pertaining specifically to this post, comment, or both:
    No conflicts (except that I’m one of those high-priced specialists).

  3. Mario Maiese, DO says:
    May 2, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    I would agree with the results of the survey including the decrease in salaries in 2010 because of decreased Medicare reimbursement for procedures as other insurances follow Medicare’s lead.
    My opinion is based on personal contacts with > 70 cardiologists, radiologists and orthopedic surgeons in SJ.

    Competing interests pertaining specifically to this post, comment, or both:
    No conflicts of interest.

  4. Mario Maiese, DO says:
    May 2, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    Everything in the article fits South Jersey to a T.

    Competing interests pertaining specifically to this post, comment, or both:
    none