Each hospital-affiliated physician last year brought in an average of $1.56 million in revenue for his or her affiliated hospitals—up nearly 8 percent from 2013, according to a new Merritt Hawkins survey.
The survey asked 3,500 hospital CFOs to quantify the outpatient and inpatient revenue that physicians from 18 different specialties generated in the past year, including revenue from patient referrals, tests, and prescriptions.
Merritt Hawkins found that, on average, primary care physicians generated about $1.4 million for their affiliated hospitals, while specialists generated about $1.6 million.
The top revenue-generating specialties were:
- Orthopedists ($2.7 million);
- Invasive cardiologists ($2.4 million);
- Neurosurgeons ($2.4 million); and
- General surgeons ($2.2 million).
Overall, 11 of the 18 specialties generated more revenue in 2015 compared with 2013.
Bruce Japsen writes for Forbes that the findings demonstrate "there's more work to be done" to shift care to lower-cost settings under value-based payment models.
Merritt Hawkins SVP Travis Singleton says the health system is "doing a better job with value-based care" but "the volume is just a level that we have never seen" (Murphy, Becker's Hospital Review, 4/12; Hethcock, Dallas Business Journal, 4/12; Budryk, FierceHealthFinance, 4/12; Bryant, HealthcareDive, 4/13; Japsen, Forbes, 4/12).
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