Primary care physicians, which account for nearly a third of practicing physicians, are now seeing salaries more than 10% higher they were five years ago, outpacing the salary growth rate of specialists by nearly double.
The report, released by the Medical Management Association (MGMA), compared data collected from over 136,000 providers in more than 5,800 organizations, including physician-owned, academic and hospital practices. Findings indicate the current average total compensation for primary care physicians varies by state, with Washington, D.C. paying the least ($205,776) and Nevada paying the most ($309,431).
The report ties the increase in compensation, in part, to the ongoing primary care physician shortage.
“MGMA’s latest survey has put strong data behind a concerning trend we’ve seen in the American healthcare system for some time—we are experiencing a real shortage of primary care physicians,” Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, MGMA’s President and CEO, is quoted as saying.
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