Making on average $408,000 per year, gastroenterologists are among the top earning physician specialists. That’s according to Medscape’s 2018 Physician Compensation Report. Gastroenterologists’ 2018 compensation grew 4 percent over the previous year.

The demand for gastroenterologists is rising due to:

• Incidents of rectal and colorectal cancer in young people are on the rise. Rectal cancer rates are increasing about 3 percent each year in people under age 50.
• With greater colorectal cancer prevention and detection awareness, more patients are seeking diagnostic testing.
• The American Cancer Society now recommends colorectal cancer screening at age 45, five years younger than previously recommended.
• In 2060, nearly a quarter of the U.S. population will be over 65 years old.

The Veterans Health Administration is utilizing telemedicine to serve a wide swath of the country where access to gastroenterologists is limited.