Survey Reveals Sports Medicine Physician Statistics - Practice And Salary Characteristics Among Results

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 13 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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New statistics reveal more information about clinical sports medicine practitioners. The study was developed to investigate and disseminate the practice patterns, career opportunities, professional relationships, and income that exist in order to better understand the career of a sports medicine physician, and released at the 54th Annual Meeting of the The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in New Orleans.

Primary care sports medicine began in the 1970's and has grown into a well recognized sub-specialty of family medicine. Sports medicine fellowships were developed in the 1980's, and the American Board of Family Physicians (ABFP) formally certified its members with a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in 1993. The practice of the 1,102 family physicians with a CAQ in sports medicine varies significantly. Sports medicine physicians at The Ohio State University designed the investigation to characterize the clinical practices of physicians who hold a CAQ in Sports Medicine through the ABFP.

A non-identifiable Web-based survey was distributed via e-mail by the ABFP to 862 family physicians (members with valid e-mail addresses) holding a CAQ in Sports Medicine. Survey questions included physician, practice, patient and payer demographics as well as income data.

Thirty-eight percent, or 325 surveys, were successfully completed. Of respondents currently holding a CAQ, 212 reported completing a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. Furthermore, 276 were male and 49 were female, and 300 reported being a M.D., while 25 reported being a D.O. Of the 325 responses, the average net income for all physicians with a CAQ in Sports Medicine was $166,348.

Men who were older than 40 years old, owned their own practice, and saw more than 10 patients each half-day were most likely to have a higher income (>$200,000/year). There was no statistical difference among salaries between M.D. or D.O.'s, OMT practice, region of the country, or type of practice.

The research team concluded the practice of primary care sports medicine physicians varies significantly with location and type of practice. Salary can be related to age, gender, number of patients seen, and practice ownership.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 international, national, and regional members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.

http://www.acsm.org