10 physician specialties that earn hospitals the most revenue

The COVID-19 pandemic has put hospitals and patients in a difficult financial situation, the revenue that physicians generated for the hospitals earlier has significantly dropped due to a decline in patient volumes and elective procedures.

According to survey results released by Merrit Hawkins last year, an average of  about $2.38 million is generated by independent and employed physicians  for their affiliated hospitals. In 2016 when the survey was last conducted, the revenue generated was $1.6 million, it’s been a significant jump over the last three years. 

The pandemic has caused financial damage for hospitals, and created a cash crunch for many physicians. The revenue loss that hospitals are losing is close to $50 billion per month. According to a report from American Hospital Association, between March 1 and June 30, the hospitals are estimated to lose $200 billion. 

An estimated $161 billion of the expected revenue losses is likely to result from cancelled services, including non elective surgeries and outpatient treatment. Patient visits for heart attack symptoms, stroke and breast cancer were down year over year in March and April, according to a recent study. Cost-cutting measures are being implemented by hundreds of hospitals and physician groups, including furloughs and layoffs, as a result of steep decline in patient volumes.

Across many specialties, the amount of revenue that physicians generate significantly varies, and those amounts are likely to go down this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The highest average annual revenue generated by 10 physician specialties according to Merritt Hawkins 2019 Physician Inpatient/Outpatient Revenue Survey are listed below in the following order;