In my opinion, doctors' salaries are based on their specialty.
According to the Medscape survey conducted from Oct. 2020 to
February 2021 found, on average, overall physician compensation
was steady due to the pandemic, with primary care physicians
earning an average of $237,00, and specialists earning an average of
$346,000. The highest-paid specialist were plastic surgeons earning
$526,000 and orthopedic doctors earning $511,000, while public
health and preventive medicine and pediatrics were the lowest-
paying specialties, with an average compensation of $231,000.
(CompHealth, 2021). For many doctors, having the responsibility for
a life, high malpractice insurance, medical student loans, and
extensive training are some of the factors why they are highly
compensated.
A reason they have a high pay scale is that they are considered
essential workers. Doctors work long hours, are constantly busy, and
see and treat an array of sick people. Reimbursements can also affect
how much a doctor earns. With the ever-changing health regulations
and reimbursement measures, they need to be financial responsibility
to provide quality care along with covering expenses to run a
practice.
Even though doctors are a well-paid profession, I feel physicians are
compensated according to their practice and the region in which they
work. Working in primary care, I see a lot of the physicians suffering
burnout due to increase metric pressures, scheduling, and balancing
the expenses of the practice. Once they have completed paying all
the staff salaries, inventory spent for the month, malpractice
insurance, the remaining revenue goes to them. Imagine working all
those hours and saving lives, everyone deserves to be compensated
for what they are worth.
Reference:
CompHealth (2021) 2021 physician salary report: Compensation in
recovery Website: https://comphealth.com/resources/physician-
salary-report/
Rosalsky, G. (2019) Are Doctors Overpaid?
Website: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/03/12/70250
0408/are-doctors-overpaid
