The physician workforce is skewing older, with many set to retire in the next decade and fewer medical students and residents in the current pipeline to take over.

Neurosurgery and thoracic surgery have been the highest-earning physician specialties for the past four years. 

Fifteen percent of physicians had to take out a loan because of COVID-19, according to an April 2020 survey. 

The mean pay for physician assistants hit $126,000 this year, but varies based on specialty and practice setting, according to the Medscape physician assistant compensation report.

Just over half of the states in the U.S. have more ASCs in 2021 than in 2020, based on data from CMS as reported by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on the average salaries of various healthcare professionals.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on the average salaries of various healthcare professionals.

There is a growing number of doctors 60 years and older expected to leave the field paired with an insufficient number of physicians entering the workforce, according to a recent report.

Neurologists, gastroenterologists and otolaryngologists are among the most in-demand specialties, according to a report from Merrit Hawkins.

Only six percent of physicians reported a decrease in their malpractice premiums between 2019 and 2020, Medical Economics reported in its 92nd physician report.

At least 6 percent of physicians in five specialties have a net worth of more than $5 million, according to Medscape's Physician Wealth & Debt Report 2021.

The percentage of ASC specialists that saw a net worth above $5 million and under $500,000 declined in the past year, according to Medcape's Physician Wealth & Debt Reports from 2021 and 2020.

West Virginia was named the worst state for physicians to practice twice in the past five years by Medscape's Best and Worst Places to Practice reports from 2017-21.

Only 1 percent of gastroenterologists have a net worth under $500,000, according to Medcape's Physician Wealth & 

Minnesota has been the top state for physicians to practice for the past four out of five years, according to a Medscape report examining compensation, practice conditions and quality of life across the U.S.

The number of ASCs is growing across the U.S. as patients and payers demand more outpatient surgery.

Physicians in private practice earned about 4 percent more than nonphysician practice owners in 2020, and compensation changes as the practice grows, according to Medical Economics' salary, productivity and profession survey.

Only 53 percent of orthopedic physicians said they feel fairly compensated. 

One-third of physicians who responded to Medical Economics' salary, productivity and profession survey reported collecting secondary income last year.

Medscape ranked the five worst states to practice, based on malpractice payouts, compensation, health system performance and physician happiness.