What do orthopedic surgery, cardiology, radiology, gastroenterology and urology have in common?  Compensation in all five specialties is higher, on average, than it is for anesthesiology, according to Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report: 2013. Anesthesiology has slipped from fourth place to sixth place among the most highly-compensated specialties since last year’s report.  Average compensation among full-time anesthesiologists as reported by Medscape is $317,000—a number that strikes us as rather low.  The explanation may lie partly in the fact that more respondents reported incomes of less than $200,000 per year than reported earnings in excess of $500,000.  The data apparently include compensation levels at implausibly low levels ($100,000 or less reported by 6% of the respondents).  The mode is $300,000 to $399,999, with 18% reporting compensation of $300,000 to $349,999 and 15% reporting $350,000 to $399,999. Medscape’s Anesthesiologist Compensation Report: 2013. Medscape defines compensation in the standard manner:  “For employed physicians, compensation includes...