MedAxiom, the premier source for cardiovascular organizational performance solutions, has released its 2025 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey report that includes data from the largest number of programs since its debut. With 232 cardiovascular programs submitting 2024 data, MedAxiom's 13th annual survey saw a 15% increase in program participation and a 21% increase in cardiovascular providers represented. The survey is powered by MedAxcess, the cardiovascular industry's leading business intelligence application and proprietary database.
2025 Report Highlights
- Compensation Increase: Compensation for full-time (FT) cardiologists continued its upward trajectory, reaching an all-time high in 2024 of $694,954 at the median. Across all subspecialties, compensation gains were reported despite a slight decline in median work relative value unit (wRVU) production.
- Compensation Divergence: Median compensation for integrated cardiologists surpassed $700,000 per FT physician, while private practice cardiologists saw a decline to $588,479, marking the largest gap in over five years. Cardiac surgeons experienced a modest compensation increase despite declining productivity, while vascular surgeons maintained near-peak compensation levels despite a steep drop in wRVUs.
- Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Deployment Trends: APPs continue to play a critical role in cardiovascular care. Cardiology programs increased their APP-to-physician ratio to 0.75, while cardiac and vascular surgery programs saw declines in APP support per surgeon.
- APP Productivity Growth: Cardiology APPs posted an 8% increase in median wRVUs, reaching 1,987 in 2024. Private practice APPs significantly outperformed their integrated peers, producing a median of 2,743 wRVUs, underscoring differences in billing independence and productivity expectations.
- Access Challenges: Access to cardiology care showed signs of strain in 2024 as larger patient panels, nearly 2,000 per physician full-time equivalency (FTE), coincided with the first drop in new patient office visits reported in several years. The percentage of new patient visits to total office visits dipped to its lowest point in five years at 15.4%.
- Declining Cath Lab Volumes: Catheterizations and PCIs per 1,000 active cardiology patients continued their downward trend, reflecting shifts in care delivery and the growing use of advanced imaging to guide interventions.
"These findings demonstrate how data can help anticipate challenges and guide strategic decisions, from workforce planning to patient access, enabling health systems to adapt to evolving demands," said MedAxiom President and CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC.
The use of data to inform solutions for workforce shortages was a key takeaway in the report. "In years past, the data seemed to suggest that the industry dealt with the cardiologist shortage simply through brute force and working harder – as measured by wRVUs," said Joel Sauer, MBA, MedAxiom's executive vice president of Consulting and a report co-author. "Now we're seeing a fundamental shift of care to APPs, and the number of physician FTEs per 1,000 active patients is dropping. This is a profound adaptation by cardiology."
The full report is available here .
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