Interventional Radiologist Salary Info

An interventional radiologist is a medical professional who uses invasive imaging to guide surgical procedures inside the body. This may include minimally invasive cameras or imaging devices, or they may be required to guide fiber optic cameras or other invasive devices to help diagnose patients and lead medical procedures.

The salary of interventional radiologists is higher on average than most medical fields. It is considered one of the most stable positions in the medical field and sees smaller changes to their salary due to economic trends.

The largest change in IR salaries takes place at the end of each year. After six years of experience, when most IRs take their board exam, an interventional radiologist is expected to make up to one hundred thousand dollars per year more than a first year IR.

As of a 2016-2017 census, the mean average salary for interventional radiologists was $588,471. The baseline salary for interventional radiologists is lower, at around $400,000 per year.

Experience Influences Interventional Radiologist Salaries

Interventional radiologists in their first year earn around $335,000 per year. This salary is expected to rise gradually through their years of practice.

Most interventional radiologists take their board exams during their sixth year of practice. By this time, their salary is expected to have risen to around $460,000.

An experienced, veteran interventional radiologist makes an average of $510,000 per year according to a 2011 survey. More recent estimates taken in December of 2018 place the average closer to $400,000, with the top end of interventional radiologist salaries at around $590,000.

The initial estimates of the 2011 survey expected the average salary of interventional radiologists to rise by 2020, but the December poll suggests they have fallen by several percentiles. The number of interventional radiologist jobs has risen by somewhere between 10-25% according to those statistics, however.

Most medical facilities in the United States still regularly employ both diagnostic radiologists and interventional radiologists. The two fields contain many similarities, so any medical professional with experience in one field or both will be considered more valuable by a medical facility. This may raise your interventional radiologist salary, though it varies from clinic to hospital and so on.

Time Spent With Patients Per Week

Radiologists in general, according to responses to a 2018 poll, spend nine minutes or less a week with each patient. This excludes time spent during any medical procedures and measures personal and interview times more.

The time spent with patients in an official capacity varied. Thirty percent said that they spent thirty hours or less a week with patients. Twenty-nine percent said they spend thirty to forty-five hours a week with patients. The rest claimed they spent more than forty-five hours a week in medical procedures or the office.

The Time Versus Salary Relationship

Because interventional radiologists are a salary-based profession, the number of hours does not have a significant influence on their income. Roughly one-third of radiologists spent more than forty-five hours a week seeing patients and said they found it a very busy position.

Though the average salary for interventional radiologists has fallen somewhere between one and three percent in 2018, the number of hours has only grown. Interventional radiologists reported an average increase in work hours and reiterated the demand for new jobs or applications for interventional radiologist positions shortly.

The Burnout Factor

The efficiency of the time interventional radiologists spend with their patients is measured in Relative Value Units (RVUs). The rise in work hours, which hasn’t been met by an increase in interventional radiologist salaries, has led the RVUs of IR work hours to decrease. This means that the radiologists, being overworked in 2018, have seen a decrease in overall work efficiency.

Writer Richard Dargon noted an increase in depression, anxiety, and other negative symptoms. The likely cause is the excessive work week placed on many interventional radiologists. The biggest threat to interventional radiologists right now is burnout, as the number of medical professionals who quit their job due to stress and mental illness is increasing.

The increase in stress placed on interventional radiologists could affect the average interventional radiologist salary. More and more IRs are finding it difficult to meet the minimum amount of work demanded by their employers.

Interventional radiology relies on technology, which makes it a difficult position to replace. The introduction of more advanced machines and possible AI assistance may alleviate the stress of the field in the near future. If this technology is introduced, however, the field of interventional radiology will only become more specialized and may require more training.

Influences On Interventional Radiology In The Near Future

Current salaries for interventional radiologists are stable, with only a small change due to economic trends. Several factors influence the average interventional radiologist salary though. This section will examine trends in the field, and how they may affect the average interventional radiologist salary in the near future.

Gender-Based Salary Differences

According to a survey of Medscape members for 2018, the average salary of their radiologists was nearly fifty thousand dollars higher for men. This survey included only full-time interventional radiologist positions.

Nearly forty percent of interventional radiologists in their data are self-employed. Twenty-three percent of women in the interventional radiologist field work part-time. Only thirteen percent of male interventional radiologists work part-time.

The average salary of self-employed radiologists is higher. Their control over their business and clients are considered factors in this. There are more women employed in radiology currently, however, which may explain the discrepancy between high self-employment salaries and the lower salaries of female radiologists.

The increase in stress placed on interventional radiologists could affect the average interventional radiologist salary. More and more IRs are finding it difficult to meet the minimum amount of work demanded by their employers.

Interventional radiology relies on technology, which makes it a difficult position to replace. The introduction of more advanced machines and possible AI assistance may alleviate the stress of the field in the near future. If this technology is introduced, however, the field of interventional radiology will only become more specialized and may require more training.

Where You Are Trained Affects Your Salary

As an interventional radiologist, an education in a United States medical school is likely to affect your salary. For radiologist positions in general, foreign-educated professionals receive nearly thirty thousand dollars less than US trained radiologists each year.

The recent policies cutting back on national healthcare support make it easier for medical practitioners to choose which insurances, Medicaid, and other payment options they are willing to accept. Interventional radiologists in a full-time position, who aren’t self-employed, may have their payment options limited by their hospital or local medical practices as well.

Age-Related Changes To Salary

Interventional radiologists often have to treat age-related symptoms. As the United States is facing an era where the Baby Boomers will require greater age-related medical care, there is a significant chance the field of interventional radiology will continue to grow in the near future.

Interventional radiology is minimally invasive, so it is capable of offering its services to same-day discharge patients. As the number of patients requiring interventional radiology increases, the ability to quickly serve patients and allow them to leave will affect their business.

Salary Trend

2017 was the first year in which physician salaries didn’t increase by at least two percent. Although the salary average rose by 0.89%, the average amount of work per physician also rose. This offset the increase in salary with additional hours and appears to be the trend for the foreseeable future.

The increase in demand for interventional radiologists will lead to an overall increase in the income of the job field. This may not increase individual salaries if it is split over a larger number of workers. Howard Forman, an M.D., said there was a reason to believe this trend would not continue, however, and that salaries would begin to rise again soon.

Salary Compared To Similar Fields

Because it is a job where those with greater skill or dexterity are required, even in the medical field, interventional radiologist salaries are higher than average medical salaries. Like all invasive surgery-related fields, experience acts as proof of skill, so veteran interventional radiologists are expected to see a steady increase in their salary during their first several years in the field.

The largest difference lies between professions that include invasive procedures, and those that do not. Non-interventional radiologists earn less, at an average of $485,000 per year. Radiation oncologists and dermatologists also earn an average salary in the upper $400,000s.

Other medical professions that require invasive procedures have similar or higher salaries. Young practitioners of invasive cardiology may earn closer to $600,000 per year. This and similar fields are more focused, which may explain the higher salary.

Diagnostic radiologists make up one medical profession that currently contains some overlap with interventional radiologists. Most medical professions still employ both diagnostic radiologists and interventional radiologists, and several have begun diverting funds from diagnostic radiology to pay for salary increases for their interventional radiologists.

Diagnostic radiologists also saw a median increase in their salaries, while interventional radiologists saw an overall drop. Yale professor Howard Forman suggested employees would try to keep the two jobs balanced, hence the decision by several hospitals to divert funds from one field to another.