Average family physician income up, but not equally

Family physician income, on average, has risen, but a new study indicates a greater number of family physicians are finding themselves on the low end of pay.

The 2013 Practice Profile Survey, a proprietary report issued in May, polled almost 500 American Academy of Family Physician (AAFP) members and found the average individual income in 2012 equalled $190,907. That's the highest average since the AAFP began surveying its members more than 30 years ago. However, the report noted that the median income was $170,000. A third of respondents said they earned $120,000 or less; a quarter of respondents said they earned more than $210,000.

"This suggests that the income levels among physicians are separating," the researchers wrote. "The separation is supported when the responses are categorized by income, as the percentage of respondents in the lowest category (earning $120,000 or less) was higher yet the mean income earned continued to grow."

When adjusted for inflation, the 2012 average still rises above previous years, but the median is similar.

Other survey findings include the following:

• Respondents said they worked an average of 48.3 hours a week in 2013, a decrease from 51.7 hours in 2012. Of that, they spent 34.1 hours in direct, face-to-face patient care, which was actually an increase from the previous year but similar to 2010 levels. The average amount of time spent on non-patient-care duties was down in 2013, falling to 2.6 hours per week, compared with 4.4 hours in 2012 and 4.8 hours in 2010.

• Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they were familiar with accountable care organizations (ACOs) and 28 percent said their practice was engaged in an ACO initiative. These are both increases over previous years as the ACO model continues to grow.

• Forty-two percent said they were familiar with the direct primary care (DPC) model. But only 2 percent of physicians said they currently worked in a DPC practice and 1 percent said they were transitioning to the DPC model.

• Twenty-six percent of respondents said their practice was recognized as a patient-centered medical home (PCMH), up from 24 percent the previous year. Nine percent said their practice had completed the transition and had applied for PCMH recognition. There was a slight decline in the percentage of physicians saying their practices received care management fees (44 percent), enhanced fee for service (37 percent), or shared savings amounts (13 percent) because of their inclusion in a PCMH. However, the percentage saying they received pay-for-performance amounts increased from 33 percent to 44 percent last year. Overall, 97 percent of respondents in a PCMH said their practice planned to reapply for PCMH recognition when the time came.