Becker's ASC Review

6 ASC MANAGEMENT The top-earning physician specialties in 2019: Cardiology & urology By Angie Stewart P hysician income in 2019 varied from specialty to specialty, according to the "91st Annual Medical Economics Physician Report." Healthcare Research & Analytics distributed the survey via email in February, collecting 1,055 responses across 17 specialties. Twenty-nine percent of physicians surveyed were family medi- cine specialists, and internal medicine physicians represented 20 percent. Four takeaways: 1. Physicians with an ownership stake in their practice made an average annual salary of $289,000 in 2019. Overall, physician respondents made an estimated $273,000 in yearly income. 2. Female physicians earned $74,000 less than their male col- leagues, making an average of $226,000 per year. 3. Cardiology specialists had the highest average annual income: $381,000. Urology specialists were the No. 2 earners, making an average of $358,000 in 2019. 4. From 2018-19, average annual income increased by $2,000 for physicians in the Midwest. Average earnings dropped for physi- cians in all other regions of the country. n The effect COVID-19 had on this New York practice By Angie Stewart O rthopedists, gastroenterologists, neurosurgeons and other specialists postponed thousands of procedures during New York's temporary ban on elective surgeries, according to e Buffalo News. While freestanding outpatient surgery centers in the state have now resumed cases. e damage in the mean- time was substantial. Five things to know: 1. UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Buffalo, N.Y., has postponed 2,000-plus surgeries, according to President Leslie Bisson, MD, who is also chair of the orthopedic surgery department at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 2. UBMD orthopedic surgeons perform roughly half of their outpatient procedures at the Millard Fillmore Sur- gery Center in Amherst, N.Y., and Southtowns Ambula- tory Center in Orchard Park, N.Y. — centers that ceased operations in case of a surge in COVID-19 patients. 3. e centers can halt cases again if necessary, Dr. Bis- son said. But right now, with new testing and screening protocols, disinfection processes and visitor restrictions, as well as increased availability of personal protective equipment for staff and no COVID-19 patients being treated there, "these places are safer than the grocery store," Dr. Bisson said. 4. Dr. Bisson said the term "elective" doesn't properly reflect the importance of procedures that were delayed. Patients have been waiting seven weeks for ligament repairs or joint replacements, dealing with pain and trouble sleeping in the meantime. 5. With elective cases on pause, UBMD's 18 group prac- tices cut physician pay and scaled back hours for other workers, according to Kevin Gibbons, MD, executive director of the UBMD Physicians Group in Buffalo and chief of neurosurgery at Buffalo-based Kaleida Health. n New Mexico man sues state over delayed elective procedure By Eric Oliver E dward Tsyitee is suing the state of New Mexico because of a health order that required facilities to cancel elective surgical procedures in the state, The NM Political Report reports. Mr. Tsyitee was scheduled to have his gallbladder removed April 13, but two medical facilities in the state declined to perform the procedure because of the order prohibiting elective procedures. Despite gallbladder removal being an elective procedure, Mr. Tsyitee said in an affidavit that he is in pain and "suffering other medical issues due to the fact that I cannot have my gallbladder removed at this time." Mr. Tsyitee is seeking financial damages and a temporary restrain- ing order to allow him to undergo the procedure. n

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