August 28, 2007—The physician compensation of 60% of polled specialties failed to keep up with inflation in 2006, according to the Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2007 Report Based on 2006 Data recently released by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), Englewood, Colo.

Among specialists, cardiologists experienced flat or declining compensation in 2006. Invasive cardiologists reported a 1.3% decrease in compensation; noninvasive cardiologists reported a decrease of slightly less than 1%. Diagnostic radiologists saw an increase of only 4%. Among specialists who fared better were pulmonary physicians, with an almost 9.2% increase in compensation.
 
“As physician pay continues to languish and practice profits are continually undercut by declining reimbursement and overwhelming administrative complexity, we see the group practice economic environment growing increasingly tenuous,” said William F. Jessee, MD, president and CEO of MGMA. “Patients can expect to feel the pinch right along with practices as physicians in some specialties see more patients each day for incongruous pay.”