Here are 20 statistics for spine surgeons to know.
Orthopedic spine surgeon compensation and salary statistics
1. The median salary of an orthopedic spine surgeon is $736,710, according to MGMA's 2015 Provider Compensation and Production Survey Report.
2. Orthopedic spine surgeon salary based on type of practice, according to the report.
- Physician owned — $669,170
- Hospital/IDS owned — $847,825
3. Orthopedic spine surgeon salary based on region, according to the report.
- Eastern — $656,392
- Midwest — $755,907
- Southern — $732,328
- Western — $752,980
4. Orthopedic spinesurgeon salary based on experience, according to the report.
- 3 to 7 years in specialty — $751,051
- 8 to 12 years in specialty — $834,679
- 23 or more years in specialty — $631,768
5. Orthopedic compensation based on subspecialties, according to OrthoBuzz.
- Spine — $749,445
- Oncology — $569,353
- Joint Replacement — $563,89
- Sports Medicine — $549,048
- Trauma — $540,197
- Pediatrics — $516,544
- Hand — $513,864
- Foot and Ankle — $505,606
6. Orthopedic surgeon signing bonuses, according to the Orthopedic Recruiting Group's 2011 Orthopedic Recruiting Trends and Salary Overview.
- Spine — $40,000
- General orthopedic — $35,000
7. Orthopedic surgeon net worth, according to Medscape's Physician Debt and Net Worth Report 2015.
- Under $500,000 — 21 percent
- $500,000 to $999,999 — 16 percent
- $1 million to $1.9 million — 26 percent
- $2 million to $5 million — 27 percent
- Over $5 million — 10 percent
Orthopedic surgeon fellowships
8. Orthopedic surgeon fellowship areas, according to the 2010 AAOS Census.
- Adult spine — 23.8 percent
- Pediatric spine — 8.5 percent
- Scoliosis — 5.5 percent
9. Orthopedic surgeon fellowship areas by current age group, according to the 2010 AAOS Census.
- Adult spine — 24 percent under 60 years old; 21.7 percent 60 years old or older
- Pediatric spine — 8.2 percent under 60 years old; 10.8 percent 60 years old or older
- Scoliosis — 5 percent under 60 years old; 9.2 percent 60 years old or older
Neurosurgeon compensation and salary statistics
10. The average salary of a neurosurgeon is $605,000, according to Merritt Hawkins' annual compensation survey, which reports real world starting salaries.
- The range of average salaries is between $400,000 and $790,000.
11. The following annual and hourly compensation statistics are based on Jackson & Coker's physician salary calculator.
Average annual compensation of full-time neurosurgeons
- Salary: $690,548
- Benefits: $138,110
- Total Compensation: $828,658
- National average gross revenue per neurosurgeon: $2,632,463
Average hourly compensation of full-time neurosurgeons
- Salary: $332
- Benefits: $66
- Total Compensation: $398
- National average gross revenue per neurosurgeon: $1,266
12. Neurosurgeon percentages by practice setting for 2011, according to AANS Neurosurgical Procedural Statistics 2012:
Type of practice
- Private: 48 percent
- Private (academic affiliation or appointment): 19 percent
- Full-time academic: 30 percent
- Military: 1 percent
- Other (federal government): 2 percent
Employment
- Practice employed by hospital: 28 percent
- Individual neurosurgeon employed by hospital: 11 percent
- N/A: 61 percent
13. Neurosurgery generates $1.68 million in revenue for hospitals on average, while the average 2012 hospital compensation for neurosurgeons was $669,000. The revenue-to-compensation ratio was 2.52:1, according to a report from Merritt Hawkins.
Surgeons focused on spine
14. Of 2,296,331 surgeries performed in 2011, 1,448,400 were spine surgeries, according to AANS National Neurosurgical Procedural Statistics.
Where surgeons are practicing
15. According to Medicus Firm's 2015 Physician Practice Preference & Relocation Survey, 30.3 percent of 2,685 physicians polled prefer single-specialty group practice. As for location, 33.1 percent preferred a suburban community setting about 30 minutes from downtown.
US spine market
16. The North American spine surgery devices market is expected to grow at a 7.5 percent compound annual growth rate by 2019, according to a Research and Markets study. The United States is predicted to have the largest market share. Spinal fusion have the biggest grasp on the market, with spinal fixation experiencing the fastest growth.
17. The U.S. spinal implant market is currently valued around $5 billion and is expected to grow for the next 10 years at a compound annual growth rate of 2.4 percent, according to a Q2 Metrics report. It is expected to reach $6.4 billion by 2024.
Global spine market
18. Although spinal fusions still hold the largest market share, disc replacements are pushing forward in popularity as they become more available among spine practices. The Millennium Research Group reported that the global spinal non-fusion market would surpass $1.6 billion by 2022, nearly tripling in size from just a few years ago. By 2020, cervical disc replacement is expected to have 10 percent of the global spine surgery market, according to a MedMarket Diligence report. Patients are seeking alternatives because fusion limits mobility and may result in adjacent segment disease.
Large US-based spine groups
19. Notable, large spine surgeon groups across the country include:
- Barrow Neurosurgical Institute: 13 surgeons, one location
- Baycare Clinic: 12 surgeons, 9 locations
- Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates: 34 surgeons, 10 locations
- Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine: 32 surgeons, 13 locations
- Indiana Spine Group: Nine surgeons, six locations
- Mayfield Brain & Spine: 16 surgeons, 12 locations
- Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush: Eight surgeons, four locations
- Midwest Spine Institute: eight surgeons, seven locations
- NebraskaSpineCenter: Eight surgeons, 11 locations
- Texas Back Institute: six surgeons, 17 locations
- TwinCitiesSpineCenter: 10 surgeons, one location
- Virginia Spine Institute: Four surgeons, one location
Bundled spine surgery
20. Total bundle costs were relatively flat when the researchers increased bundle length, according to a study published in Spine. The total average cost of the 30-day bundle was $33,522 compared to the average 90-day bundle cost of $35,165. This could indicate the bulk of charges happen within the first 30 days of surgery. The study looked at the variation in spine surgery costs and the implications that variation could have on evidenced-based bundled payments. The largest portion of the bundled costs was associated with hospital payments, with 76 percent of the bundle going towards hospital payments on average.
Paul Slosar, MD, said in a Becker's Spine Review report, that "spine practices will need business partners to represent their groups in order to negotiate and generate profits from bundled payment strategies…[spine practices] have neither the experience nor capacity to negotiate favorable bundled payment terms from payers."