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HEALTHCARE
NEWS
Number of medical students pursuing surgery
specialty drops by half — 28 statistics
By Angie Stewart
O
nly 4 percent of medical students
surveyed in 2018 said their chosen
medical specialty is general surgery,
compared with 8 percent in 2016, according
to Medscape's Medical Student Life & Educa-
tion Report 2018.
Medscape surveyed 2,365 U.S. medical
students.
Here's the breakdown of medical specialties
chosen:
1. Internal medicine: 11 percent
2. Emergency medicine: 11 percent
3. Family medicine: 11 percent
4. Pediatrics: 9 percent
5. Psychiatry: 7 percent
6. OB/GYN and women's health: 6 percent
7. Anesthesiology: 5 percent
8. Other: 5 percent
9. General surgery: 4 percent
10. Radiology: 4 percent
11. Orthopedic surgery: 3 percent
12. Specialized surgery: 2 percent
13. Neurology: 2 percent
14. Ophthalmology: 2 percent
15. Cardiology: 2 percent
16. Dermatology: 2 percent
17. Otolaryngology: 2 percent
18. Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 2
percent
19. Urology: 1 percent
20. Neurological surgery: 1 percent
21. Oncology: 1 percent
22. Critical care: 1 percent
23. Orthopedics: 1 percent
24. Gastroenterology: 1 percent
25. Endocrinology: 1 percent
26. Pathology: 1 percent
27. Plastic surgery/aesthetic medicine: 1
percent
28. HIV/infectious diseases: 1 percent n
Sutter Health reports higher operating revenues, income in first
half of 2018
By Ayla Ellison
S
acramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health saw revenues
and operating income increase in the six months
ended June 30, according to unaudited financial
documents.
Here are five things to know:
1. The health system reported operating revenues of $6.3
billion in the first six months of 2018, up 6.5 percent from
revenues of $5.9 billion in the same period a year ear-
lier. Sutter said the increase was primarily attributable to
higher patient service revenues and premium revenues,
which climbed 5.3 percent and 11.3 percent year over
year, respectively.
2. Sutter's operating expenses climbed 4.3 percent year
over year to $6.1 billion in the six months ended June 30.
3. Sutter ended the first half of 2018 with an operating
income of $145 million, up 806 percent from $16 million
in the same period of 2017. The health system's operat-
ing margin increased from 0.3 percent in the first half of
2017 to 2.3 percent in the first six months of 2018. The
significant increase in operating income is attributable
to changes in the accounting standards used related to
California's Hospital Fee Program. Changes to accounting
standards related to a state fee program will make year-
over-year comparisons difficult until the fourth quarter of
2018 for Sutter Health.
4. What is the fee program? California enacted legisla-
tion for a hospital fee program to fund certain Medi-Cal
coverage expansions. The program charges all hospitals a
quality assurance fee that is used to obtain federal match-
ing funds for Medi-Cal with the proceeds redistributed as
supplemental payments to California hospitals that treat
Medi-Cal patients. Sutter's accounting firm confirmed that
revenue could be recorded without CMS approval for the
2017 audited financial statements. Sutter said the system
accrued $3 million in Q2 2017 for the program, and in
Q2 2018 it accrued $76 million because of this change in
revenue recognition.
5. After factoring in investment income, which declined
due to a drop in value of certain securities and debt ex-
tinguishment, Sutter's net income was $174 million in the
first six months of this year, compared to $350 million in
the same period a year earlier. n
