General surgeons are generating 16.6% more revenue for hospitals in 2015 than they did in 2012, according to a survey by physician recruitment firm Merritt Hawkins.
In 2015, general surgeons generated an average of $2.17 million in net revenue for their affiliated hospitals, compared with $1.86 million in 2012, when Merritt Hawkins last conducted its survey of hospital chief financial officers.
Of the 18 specialties included in the survey, only orthopedic surgeons ($2.75 million), invasive cardiologists ($2.448 million), and neurosurgeons ($2.446 million), produced more revenue than did general surgeons. Net revenue generated by physicians in all 18 specialties averaged $1.56 million in 2015, which was up 7.7% over the $1.45 million generated in 2012. Average revenue for specialists was up 12.8%, going from $1.42 million in 2012 to $1.61 million in 2015, the survey showed.
The survey (available for download here) was completed by 74 hospital chief financial officers. Despite the small number, Merritt Hawkins said that the “results are reliable and accurate, in large part because the overall number for average annual revenue generated by all physician specialties for their affiliated hospitals has remained virtually unchanged” over the course of six surveys spanning 14 years.