Who's Making What
American Medical Group Association 2010 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data Survey at a Glance. *M.D. reported, as opposed to Ph.D. Not all specialties are included in this chart.

With the cost of everything rising—from food to gas to tuition for schools— here’s some good financial news: Overall, physicians in 76 percent of specialties saw their compensation rise in 2009.

Physicians specializing in pulmonary disease, dermatology and urology saw among the biggest compensation increases; for specialties overall, the average was a 3.4 percent rise.

The highest-paid specialties reported include cardiac and thoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery and subspecialties, cardiology-cath lab, and diagnostic radiology-interventional (in bold at right).

Those compensation figures are detailed in the American Medical Group Association’s 2010 Compensation and Financial Survey (2009 data).

Notes the report: “Many factors influence a change in physician compensation, some of which are market demand for certain specialists and new technologies or new procedures that impact the physician’s overall productivity.”