Primary care compensation goes up according to new report

Primary care compensation goes up according to new report July 10, 2017

The healthcare environment is changing, with reimbursement transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based payments. At the same time, healthcare insurance options are in flux, with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) potentially being replaced by a new healthcare law. The value of the primary care physician, however, continues to be paramount in the overall patient health care picture. That value is reflected in the increasing primary care physician’s compensation over the past several years.

A 2017 Merritt Hawkins survey and the subsequent report reveals that the average family medicine physician income has increased significantly since the 2012/13 survey year:

2016/17             $231,000

2015/16             $225,000

2014/15             $198,000

2013/14             $199,000

2012/13             $185,000

The 2017 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives emphasizes that, even with the current healthcare regulatory environment and with the growing importance of various types of specialty healthcare providers, physicians “continue to be the indispensable caregivers at the heart of the healthcare system.”

The Review points out that physicians:

• Handle over 1.2 billion patient visits a year, in offices, emergency departments and other settings.
• Control 87% of all personal spending on health care through hospital admissions, test orders, prescriptions, procedures, treatment plans and related activities.
• Generate $1.6 trillion in economic output collectively.
• Account for $2.2 million in economic output individually.
• Support 14 jobs each.

Elation Health focuses on helping primary care physicians continue to be effective in providing quality healthcare to their patients and continue to run a financially healthy practice. A significant aspect of the overall financial situation for an independent primary care physician is effective practice management.

Elation has always been focused on building a technology platform that physicians actually want to use, that improves patient outcomes, and that will eventually transform the delivery of healthcare itself. Our Clinical First EHR provides all of this and more, so the primary care physician can continue to provide the highest quality healthcare available in a cost-efficient setting.

Learn more about how Elation supports independent primary care physicians.