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SullivanCotter Report Shows Physician Compensation Growth Continues to Outpace Productivity
CHICAGO, September 17, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SullivanCotter, the nation’s leading independent consulting firm in the assessment and development of total rewards programs, workforce solutions, and data products for health care and not-for-profits, has released new data and benchmarks from its 2026 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey.
This year, median physician total cash compensation (TCC) rose year-over-year across all major specialty categories. Adult medical specialties again posted the largest increase, up 7.2% from 2025 to 2026 for a cumulative gain of 25.2% over the past five years. Work RVU (wRVU) productivity increases were modest, with year-over-year changes ranging from 0.8% in primary care to 2.8% in adult medical specialties. This is the second consecutive year in which adult medical specialties have shown the highest growth in productivity.
Sharp TCC growth over the past few years in anesthesiology and radiology has markedly shifted employment models and driven consolidation among private practice groups whose reimbursement has not kept pace with the TCC demands of new recruits in the field. TCC for general, cardiac, and pediatric anesthesiology has grown 14-16% since 2024, while CRNA pay has grown almost 12%. Over the same period, TCC for diagnostic, interventional, and mammography radiology has grown between 12% and 18%.
Facing these TCC increases and continued market pressure to reduce annual work effort expectations, many organizations are evaluating the design of their compensation programs. “As physician shortages persist and the implementation of AI tools alters care delivery, health care organizations must have agile compensation and care model strategies,” said Courtney Dutton, Managing Director and Clinical Workforce Services Leader, SullivanCotter.
The 2026 survey findings show that base salary and wRVU productivity remain the most prevalent components of compensation plans for primary care, medical, and surgical specialties. As for physician incentive pay, individual productivity and patient experience remain the most common measures, each used by 73% of responding organizations. Clinical outcome measures saw the biggest shift, rising 8% from 2025 to 2026 to a prevalence of 55%, continuing a multi-year climb impacting physician incentive design.
Sign-on bonuses are becoming table stakes in an increasingly competitive market. The number of physicians receiving sign-on bonuses reached nearly 95% in 2026. Looking for other differentiators, 49% of respondent organizations offer student loan repayment programs. For many new physicians, financial security and work-life balance outweigh the risks and variability of incentive-focused models.
