New patient visits climbed in 2021 and cardiology compensation returned to pre-pandemic levels

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 16 2022

MedAxiom, the premier source for cardiovascular organizational performance solutions, has released its 10^th annual Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey Report that includes data from the largest number of providers since its debut. The report features a special section on 10-year trends in addition to year-over-year comparisons.

2022 Report Highlights:

• Overall median cardiology compensation returned to pre-pandemic levels, but not as high as 2019
• Compensation for cardiologists in private programs is only 3% lower than cardiologists in integrated programs; compared to a 20% gap only four years ago
• New patient visits climbed in 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic levels
• Procedure volumes rebounded for all three advanced imaging modalities and cardiac catheterizations
• Employed/integrated continues to be the overwhelmingly dominant ownership model (nearly nine out of 10 programs)

Over the last few years, the COVID pandemic and subsequent 'Great Resignation' have made a complex healthcare environment even more volatile. To thrive in the new normal, cardiovascular programs need access to accurate and actionable data, expert analyses and robust reports. MedAxiom's 10^th annual report includes year-over-year comparisons that provide insights into where cardiovascular programs have returned to, or even exceeded, pre-pandemic levels and where they are still lagging."

Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC, MedAxiom's President and CEO

Data for the 2022 report were collected from nearly 200 cardiovascular programs representing almost 5,700 total cardiovascular providers.

"The past decade has brought many interesting and revealing changes to the practice of cardiology. From procedure shifts and the mix of cardiologists to the production and compensation alterations that result, it has been a dynamic 10 years. While no one can predict the future, the beauty of surveys is their ability to measure the past. MedAxiom is looking forward to the next 10 years of cardiology surveys to provide the community with invaluable data and peer comparisons," noted Joel Sauer, MBA, report co-author and MedAxiom's executive vice president of Consulting.