Becker's Hospital Review

45 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP Male physicians see 30% larger paychecks than their female colleagues By Molly Gamble M ale physicians continue to earn more money than female physicians in 2021 — 27 percent more in primary care and 33 percent more in specialty care, to be precise. e findings come from Medscape's annual "Physician Compen- sation Report," released April 16, and are in line with the past de- cade of its analyses regarding the gender pay gap for physicians. Among primary care physicians, the pay gap of approximately 27 percent is consistent with years past. Full-time male primary care physicians earn $269,000 on average, whereas their female counterparts bring in $211,000. Interestingly, annual earnings ticked up 2 percent this year for men while they fell 0.4 percent for women. Full-time male specialists earn $376,000 on average, whereas their female counterparts bring in $283,000. e same dynamic oc- curred for specialists, with the annual pay ticking up in the past year for men (0.3 percent) while falling for women (-1 percent). Women are paid less than men in almost all occupations re- gardless of whether they work in occupations predominantly held by women, occupations predominantly held by men, or occupations with a more even mix of men and women, accord- ing to an analysis of 2020 earnings data from the Institute for Women's Policy Research. For its 2021 report, Medscape collected responses from nearly 18,000 physicians in more than 29 specialties. Data was collect- ed from Oct. 6, 2020, through Feb. 11. e report also broke down the percentage of female physicians by specialty. e five specialties with the most female physicians are: • Pediatrics: 61 percent • OB-GYN: 59 percent • Diabetes and endocrinology: 50 percent • Family medicine: 47 percent • Dermatology: 46 percent e five specialties with the fewest female physicians are: • Orthopedics: 9 percent • Urology: 11 percent • Cardiology: 14 percent • General surgery: 20 percent • Plastic surgery: 20 percent n 'Get the waste out of the system': AdventHealth's Kimberly Bell on the future of heart care By Erica Carbajal C ardiology needs to be "more in the business of pre- vention than treatment," says Kimberly Bell, MSN, vice president of operations for specialty practices at Orlando, Fla.-based AdventHealth. She recently joined the Becker's Healthcare cardiology podcast to discuss how she believes heart care will evolve. Here is an excerpt from the podcast. Editor's note: This response was lightly edited. Question: How are you thinking about growth and devel- opment in the future as it relates to cardiology? Kimberly Bell: I think we have to be more in the business of prevention than treatment. We have to be personalized, and therefore genomics plays a huge factor in that we know our genetic codes, and we know that it's important for us to get more precision-based in our medical care. I think growth will come from individuals being loyal to health systems that know them, that help them navigate it easily and who take out the waste in the system by being more person- alized with care. So, don't ask me 20 times my name and my history — if you already know me … help me choose the right medication based on my genetics, based on my own social determinants. Help me make it easier and get the waste out of the system. n Louisiana hospital names 1st female CMO By Kelly Gooch S herrie Somers, DO, was chosen as the first female chief medical officer of Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, La., the hospital said. Dr. Somers most recently worked in Denver as medical di- rector for the New West Physicians hospitalist inpatient team with OptumHealth, part of health services business Optum. She began her new role May 17. Dr. Somers holds a medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif. Rapides Regional said she has worked as a hospitalist/intensivist, critical care locum and contract physician in primary care. Rapides Regional was founded in 1903. n

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