The past few years have been favorable for Radiation Oncology compensation. Modern Healthcare’s 23rd annual Physician Compensation Survey, reaching 6,550 healthcare organizations and nearly 346,000 physicians, found in 2016:
- On overall pay, orthopedic surgeons earned the top spot with $555,000 and nudged out invasive cardiologists, whose median pay rose to $541,000. Others in the top five were radiation oncologists at $500,000; radiologists, $475,000; and gastroenterologists at $458,000
- The biggest gainers were non-invasive cardiologists, up 14.9% from last year's survey; radiation oncologists, up 10.7%; and medical oncologists (including hematologists), up 9.5%.
- Radiologists have the widest range of all specialties in average compensation reported by survey respondents—between $267,000 and $513,000, a whopping pay differential of about $246,000. Plastic surgeons placed second, with a pay range of more than $224,000, followed by radiation oncologists, about $209,000.
So where will overall compensation fall for Radiation Oncology in 2017? There are numerous factors that will affect any particular provider's compensation. Among the variables to consider in 2017 are:
- The slight increase in the PFS Conversion factor
- Valuation changes to Radiation Oncology codes
- Increases in prior authorization requirements
- Bundling of IMRT Simulation codes
- Adjustments to Geographic Cost Practice Indices (GPCI),
- And other minor changes such as new CPT codes
But the largest factor in determining overall radiation oncology compensation as compared to 2016 are still factors like patient volume, payer mix, denial rates, patient collections and the like. In total, New Bedford is seeing modest increases in radiation oncology physician compensation from low single digits to nearly 10% increases in collections depending on the practice.
The fundamentals of good practice management, good radiation oncology billing services, and excellent documentation are still winning the day.