Physician Income "Disappointing," But Up Slightly

Although most physicians report that their net income is "disappointing," American physicians saw a slight uptick in income in 2012 compared to 2011, a new report shows. Specialists continue to outpace primary care physicians; 40% of the latter make less than $150,000 per year, Physicians Practice reports. Other findings from the survey: Fewer physicians than ever (43.8 percent) report being owners or partners of their own practices, as hospitals and health systems continue to seek market share through direct employment and practice ownership and smaller group practices consolidate; Almost 44 percent report that their practices are owned by a hospital or health system; Most respondents said some part of physician income is dependent on factors such as productivity; three out of 10 said that at least 20 percent of their income is not guaranteed. Most respondents described net income from their practices as "disappointing." Twenty-nine percent of physicians say the viability of their business is "shaky," a scary prospect just as more patients are getting access to care. Nineteen percent of physicians reported that their income was down by more than 10 percent in 2012, compared to 2011.