Recent Trends in Academic Vs Non-academic Radiologist Compensation and Clinical Productivity

Ajay Malhotra; Dheeman Futela; Rudra Joshi; Seyedmehdi Payabvash; Ben White; David Seidenwurm; Dheeraj Gandhi; Richard Duszak

doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2024.10.020

Recent Trends in Academic Vs Non-academic Radiologist Compensation and Clinical Productivity

J Am Coll Radiol. 2024 Nov 12:S1546-1440(24)00910-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2024.10.020. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ajay Malhotra¹, Dheeman Futela², Rudra Joshi², Seyedmehdi Payabvash², Ben White³, David Seidenwurm⁴, Dheeraj Gandhi⁵, Richard Duszak⁶

Affiliations

¹ Professor, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine. Electronic address: ajay.malhotra@yale.edu.
² Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine.
³ American Radiology Associates.
⁴ Medical Director, Sutter Health.
⁵ Professor and Director, Interventional Neuroradiology; Professor of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Neurology and Neurosurgery.
⁶ Professor and Chair, Department of Radiology, University of Missisipi Medical Center.

PMID: 39542198
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacr.2024.10.020

Abstract

Background: Recent radiologist compensation and clinical productivity trends have not been well characterized, especially across academic vs. non-academic practice settings.

Purpose: To assess recent trends in in financial compensation and clinical productivity between academic and non-academic settings in diagnostic (DR) and interventional radiology (IR).

Materials and methods: We studied deidentified data from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) for both DR and IR radiologists in academic and non-academic practices from 2014 to 2023. Median, 25^th and 75^th percentile, and mean values were analyzed for compensation, collections and work relative-value-units (wRVUs). Compensation and productivity data were compared by radiology subspecialty (DR vs IR), practice type (academic vs non-academic provider), geographical region of the US, and practice size. Trends in absolute changes were analyzed with linear regression.

Results: The MGMA Survey data for 2023 included responses for 3769 radiologists (2883 in DR and 886 in IR). In 2023, non-academic radiologists had greater total median compensation than academic faculty in both DR (by 27%) and IR (by 32%). From 2014 to 2023, median compensation increased faster for academic DRs (3.2% annually) than for non-academic DRs (1.9% annually). In 2023, DRs produced greater median wRVUs than IRs (by 53 % for non-academic and 46 % for academic radiologists) with higher collections, but IRs had higher compensation (by 16% in non-academic and 10% in academic settings). Over the last decade, IR physician compensation increased by 3.9% and 3.4% annually for non-academic and academic IR physicians respectively while median work RVUs trended downward (by -1.5 % for non-academic and -2.4 % for academic physicians) with declining collections (by -4.4 % annually for non-academic and -2.1 % for academic physicians).

Conclusion: Over the last decade, the salary gap between academic and non-academic radiologists has narrowed. Physician compensation has increased at a faster pace in IR, despite relatively lower clinical productivity and declining collections.

Keywords: academic; compensation; productivity; radiology.