The Impact of Clinical Specialty on Physician Leader Pay

In June 2024, BFMV issued the latest edition of its Physician Leaders Compensation Report. The report is based on Form 990 data filed by nonprofit hospitals and health systems across the country. It includes statistics on compensation paid to physicians in leadership positions in hospitals, medical groups, and other types of organizations. 

In the clinical realm, a physician’s specialty is a primary determinant of compensation. BFMV researched the clinical specialties of each physician leader included in the Physician Leaders Compensation Report to determine if physician leader pay is also influenced by clinical specialty.

One of the first things that stands out about the data is that primary care physicians are very present in physician leadership. Out of a total of 3,436 physician leaders and 40 specialties, the 10 most common clinical specialties were:

1)      Family Medicine (948 leaders)

2)      Internal Medicine (624 leaders)

3)      Psychiatry & Neurology (471 leaders)

4)      Pediatrics (242 leaders)

5)      Emergency Medicine (185 leaders)

6)      Obstetrics & Gynecology (165 leaders)

7)      General Surgery (88 leaders)

8)      Anesthesiology (57 leaders)

9)      Hospital Medicine (57 leaders)

10)    Cardiology (45 leaders)

Some of the leadership positions in the report showed more inclusivity when it came to clinical specialty. There was a total of 19 leadership positions and 40 specialties recorded, out of those positions, the ones with the most diversity in terms of clinical specialties were:

1)      Chief Medical Officer (38 specialties)

2)      Medical Director (38 specialties)

3)      Physician Leader/Department Head (31 specialties)

4)      Chief of Staff (30 specialties)

5)      VP Clinical/Medical Affairs (28 specialties)

Another significant finding was that physician leaders in surgical specialties were the highest paid. Out of a total of 3,436 physician leaders and 40 specialties, the 10 specialties with the highest-paid physician leaders:

1)     Pediatric Surgery ($939,631)

2)     Endocrinology ($916,989)

3)     Thoracic Surgery ($839,637)

4)     Surgical Oncology ($833,777)

5)     Gastroenterology ($790,624)

6)     Radiology ($753,122)

7)     Cardiology ($745,026)

8)     Neurological Surgery ($705,716)

9)     Ophthalmology ($672,612)

10)   Emergency Medicine ($672,223)

Based on our research, some of the leadership positions where clinical specialty appears to impact pay the most are:

1)     Medical Director

The 21 Medical Directors who specialized in General & Preventative Medicine had an average compensation of $182,316, while the 5 Medical Directors who specialized in Thoracic Surgery had an average compensation of $1,141,783, a $959,467 difference.

2)     Chief Medical Officer

The 6 Chief Medical Officers who specialized in General & Preventative Medicine had an average compensation of $246,312 and the 7 who specialized in Hospice had an average compensation of $304,719. But the 84 who specialized in Emergency Medicine had an average compensation of $965,965, a $719,653 difference from General & Preventative Medicine.

3)     Physician Leader/Department Head

The 25 Physician Leaders/Department Heads who specialized in Family Medicine had an average compensation of $308,745, while the 5 who specialized in Orthopedic Surgery had an average compensation of $826,556, a $517,811 difference. Also, the 6 Physician Leaders/Department Heads who specialized in Thoracic Surgery had an average compensation of $806,534.

4)     Chief of Staff

The 10 Chiefs of Staff who specialized in Anesthesiology had an average compensation of $289,539, while the 13 Chiefs of Staff who specialized in Orthopedic Surgery had an average compensation of $757,790, a $468,251 difference. 

Overall, the findings in the report indicate that clinical specialty does appear to impact physician leader pay in some physician leader positions. For more details, purchase the report in our shop.