Editing Emergency medicine (section)

====Compensation====

In the United States, Emergency Physicians are compensated at a higher rate than some other specialities, ranking 10th out of 26 physician specialities in 2015, at an average salary of $306,000 annually.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2015/public/overview#page=3|title=Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2015|website=medscape.com|access-date=2016-11-28}}</ref> They are compensated in the mid-range (averaging $13,000 annually) for non-patient activities, such as speaking engagements or acting as an expert witness; they also saw a 12% increase in salary from 2014 – 2015 (which was not out of line with many other physician specialities that year).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2015/public/overview#page=4|title=Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2015|website=medscape.com|access-date=2016-11-28}}</ref> While emergency physicians work 8–12 hour shifts and do not tend to work on-call, the high level of stress and need for solid diagnostic and triage capabilities for the undifferentiated, acute patient contributes to arguments justifying higher salaries for these physicians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/750482|title=Physician Compensation Report 2015|website=medscape.com|access-date=2016-11-28}}</ref> Emergency care must be available every hour of every day and requires a doctor to be available on-site 24/7, unlike an outpatient clinic or other hospital departments with more limited hours and may only call a physician in when needed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shi |first1=L |last2=Singh |first2=D |title=Delivering health care in America: A systems approach |edition=6th |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |year=2015 |page=264}}</ref> The necessity to have a physician on staff and all other diagnostic services available every hour of every day is thus a costly arrangement for hospitals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newsroom.acep.org/fact_sheets?item=29928|title=Fact Sheets|website=American College of Emergency Physicians {{!}} News Room|access-date=2016-11-28|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505041429/http://newsroom.acep.org/fact_sheets?item=29928|url-status=dead}}</ref>