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One statistic that could be perceived as good news in Modern Healthcare's 2010 Physician Compensation Survey is that among the 23 specialties tracked, there was a 260% increase in specialties that saw average pay increases above the rate of inflation compared with 2009. But since the rate of inflation was only 1.5%, that statistic might not be much for doctors to brag about.
Eighteen of the 23 specialties tracked in the survey, our 18th annual, saw increases above the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2010 Consumer Price Index, three had pay increases below the CPI (noninvasive cardiology, dermatology and pediatrics), and two saw decreases (hospitalists and pathologists).
By comparison, only five specialties had average increases above the 2.7% rate of inflation in 2009; while eight specialties saw their compensation fall. In 2008, 11 specialties saw average compensation increases below the year's 3.8% inflation rate, while three specialties saw decreases. This year's survey was also the third in a row in which no specialty saw a double-digit increase in pay, compared with one for 2008 and three for 2007.
Other continuing trends: It's the third consecutive year that orthopedic surgeons (average compensation of $497,776) and invasive cardiologists ($467,808) finished first...