Radiologist Compensation Dips Slightly in 2012

Radiologist compensation dipped slightly compared with last year, while other specialists saw a salary increase, according to a survey from the American Medical Group Association.

The median compensation for diagnostic noninterventional radiologists slipped to $459,186 in 2012, down 0.45 percent from 2011. Interventional radiologists earned a median of $485,277, down 1.4 percent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, 79 percent of specialties experienced an increase, and the average pay boost was about 3 percent, the survey found. Primary-care physicians saw a 4 percent average increase.

The recent decline comes on the heels of steady compensation gains since 2009, the survey shows. Since 2009, noninterventional radiologists have seen a 4.8 percent increase, and interventional radiologists saw a 1.5 percent increase.

The specialties that saw the greatest increase were hematology and medical oncology with more than 7 percent, hypertension and nephrology with 7 percent, and urgent care and family medicine, both around 5 percent. Endocrinologists saw the greatest dip at 5 percent.

Work RVUs, which measure physician productivity, also decreased by 10.5 percent for interventional radiologists in 2012 compared with last year, while they rose nearly 3 percent for interventional radiologists. On average, RVUs for primary care and specialties remained mostly flat, according to the survey.

The data from the AMGA 2012 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey include responses from 225 medical groups, representing 55,800 providers.