Primary care physicians remain in high demand with family medicine the most requested specialty by healthcare organizations in the fourth quarter, according to The Delta Companies' Physician Recruiting Standard report. Family medicine also ranked as the No. 1 specialty in the year-ago quarter.

"Healthcare systems large and small are all seeking quality primary care physicians to meet local primary care needs and support specialty physicians," said Jim Fuller, VP of recruiting for Delta Physician Placement.

After family medicine, the top 10 in-demand medical specialties for doctors also included internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, hospitalist, psychiatry, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine and cardiology.

Demand for hospitalists has risen sharply, according to Delta's report. Hospitalists ranked as the fifth-most demanded search in the fourth quarter, up from the ninth-most demanded in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Salaries are also on the rise for primary care physicians. According to the Delta report, doctors focused on family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry and obstetrics/gynecology doctors averaged a 5% increase in compensation compared with the previous quarter.

The Delta Companies is a Dallas-based healthcare staffing firm.