TABLE 2.
Multivariable analysis of factors associated with physician salary
| Unadjusted Salary ($) | Adjusted Salary ($) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Mean (sd) | Mean | 95% CI | p-value |
| Male | 257,957 (137,203) | 247,661 | (245,065, 250,258) | [Reference] |
| Female | 206,641 (88,239) | 227,783 | (224,117, 231,448) | <0.001 |
| Rank | ||||
| Assistant | 207,913 (93,111) | 217,179 | (212,963, 221,395) | [Reference] |
| Associate | 239,303 (118,221) | 240,422 | (236,001, 244,843) | <0.001 |
| Full | 285,166 (151,344) | 274,614 | (269,414, 279,814) | <0.001 |
| Age, years | ||||
| <40 years | 207,147 (95,621) | 241,430 | (233,753, 249,107) | [Reference] |
| 40–44 years | 225,572 (108,927) | 245,500 | (239,193, 251,807) | 0.263 |
| 45–49 years | 246,958 (127,610) | 250,330 | (244,743, 255,918) | 0.042 |
| 50–54 years | 261,280 (138,644) | 249,234 | (243,453, 255,016) | 0.139 |
| 55–59 years | 259,157 (126,502) | 238,158 | (231,298, 245,018) | 0.602 |
| 60–64 years | 263,973 (137,492) | 236,456 | (227,199, 245,713) | 0.513 |
| >= 65 years | 258,165 (151,665) | 210,663 | (198,095, 223,231) | 0.001 |
| Specialty | ||||
| Anesthesiology | 271,883 (96,541) | 286,337 | (277,879, 294,796) | [Reference] |
| Cardiology | 276,151 (128,230) | 254,188 | (243,251, 265,124) | <0.001 |
| Emergency Medicine | 229,182 (63,082) | 235,975 | (224,995, 246,955) | <0.001 |
| Family Medicine | 171,270 (56,815) | 191,341 | (181,807, 200,876) | <0.001 |
| Gastroenterology | 265,024 (129,705) | 258,690 | (244,709, 272,670) | 0.001 |
| Hematology/Oncology | 265,921 (148,804) | 244,404 | (233,968, 254,840) | <0.001 |
| Infectious Disease | 181,743 (68,994) | 190,184 | (176,325, 204,044) | <0.001 |
| Internal Medicine | 198,687 (73,413) | 202,332 | (195,421, 209,243) | <0.001 |
| Neurology | 197,991 (96,739) | 192,674 | (182,812, 202,537) | <0.001 |
| Obstetrics & Gynecology | 259,635 (121,156) | 273,507 | (263,536, 283,477) | 0.054 |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 355,704 (162,508) | 358,093 | (344,354, 371,831) | <0.001 |
| Other | 225,200 (115,126) | 214,406 | (208,521, 220,290) | <0.001 |
| Pathology | 214,248 (96,759) | 212,111 | (202,052, 222,170) | <0.001 |
| Pediatrics | 191,576 (78,601) | 210,939 | (205,041, 216,837) | <0.001 |
| Psychiatry | 198,777 (73,897) | 206,568 | (196,799, 216,337) | <0.001 |
| Radiology | 290,402 (107,125) | 282,368 | (273,058, 291,678) | 0.535 |
| Surgery | 310,895 (171,207) | 302,666 | (294,060, 311,272) | 0.008 |
| Surgery subspecialty | 330,992 (191,272) | 318,760 | (311,030, 326,491) | <0.001 |
| NIH Grant | ||||
| None | 238,853 (123,028) | 243,071 | (240,763, 245,378) | [Reference] |
| At Least 1 | 247,944 (135,029) | 227,667 | (221,160, 234,175) | <0.001 |
| Clinical Trial | ||||
| None | 235,461 (121,243) | 239,356 | (237,159, 241,554) | [Reference] |
| At Least 1 | 280,994 (146,639) | 253,501 | (246,631, 260,371) | <0.001 |
| Years since residency (ref. increment, 1 yr) | 1764.5 | 559 | (18.2,1,100.0) | 0.043 |
| Publications, total (ref. increment, 1 pub.) | 784.7 | 409 | (298.7,518.3) | <0.001 |
| Publications, first or last author (ref. increment, 1 pub.) | 683.2 | −79 | (−196.6,38.9) | 0.189 |
| Medicare payment (ref. increment, 1 dollar) | 0.3 | 0.3 | (0.3,0.3) | <0.001 |
| Graduated from a top-20 U.S. medical school | ||||
| No | 237,264 (121,460) | 239,799 | (237,338, 242,260) | [Reference] |
| Yes | 252,643 (135,563) | 243,768 | (239,465, 248,072) | 0.129 |
Notes: Estimates are from a multivariable linear regression of salary as a function of age, years of experience, sex, NIH funding, publication count (total as well first or last authored publications), clinical trial participation, Medicare payments, and medical school fixed effects. Medicare payments reflect the amount a physician was reimbursed by Medicare in 2013, as reported in publicly available data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This figure was used as a proxy for clinical revenue and full- versus part-time effort, which may influence a physician’s salary.