Healthgrades for ProfessionalsPhysician Salaries Ranked by Hourly Rate

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Medscape’s 2024 Physician Compensation Report reveals significant disparities in hourly compensation across medical specialties, with surgical specialists and dermatologists commanding the highest rates. The analysis, which accounts for average weekly work hours and assumes a 49-week work year, shows that although annual salaries have increased, more than half of physicians consider their compensation inadequate relative to their workload.

Key Points:

• Top hourly earners are dermatology ($221.17), orthopedics ($215.27), and plastic surgery ($209.56), with these specialties maintaining their high rankings from 2023
• Primary care physicians and infectious disease specialists record the lowest hourly rates, with infectious diseases ($100.31), diabetes & endocrinology ($106.84), and internal medicine ($112.85) at the bottom of the scale
• 51% of physicians report their compensation doesn’t match their work demands, yet 83% say salary wasn’t a primary factor in choosing their specialty
• Emergency medicine, OB-GYN, and oncology specialists report the highest burnout rates, despite not ranking among top earners
• Beyond compensation, physicians cite bureaucratic tasks, lack of professional respect, and rising living costs as key factors in work dissatisfaction

Private equity (PE) firms have been increasingly acquiring physician practices across a number of physician specialties since 2012, increasing from 75 deals in 2012 to 484 deals in 2021, or more than six-fold increase in only 10 years. (American Antitrust Institute)

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