Their salaries are often the subject of fantasy: here is how much French doctors earn.
- The Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) publishes a study on the income of private doctors in 2017.
- This snapshot of income is the result of a matching of data relating to the liberal activity of doctors from the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) and data from income declarations collected by the General Directorate of Public Finance ( DGFiP).
In 2017, liberal or mixed doctors aged 70 or less practicing in France declared an average annual income from activity of 120,000 euros, according to a new DREES survey. This finding masks disparities depending on the specialty: radiologists (radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and medical imaging), anesthesiologists-resuscitators, ophthalmologists or surgeons are the best paid, with incomes reaching or exceeding an average of 185,000 euros per year. .
400,000 euros per year for radiologists
Radiotherapy stands out clearly, with an average income of more than 400,000 euros per year. On the other hand, among the specialists at the bottom of the salary scale are psychiatrists and paediatricians, with average incomes of 89,000 and 86,000 euros respectively. For GPs, the average income is 92,000 euros. “By comparison, the average income from activity in France of non-employees excluding micro-entrepreneurs in 2017 is 43,000 euros, all sectors combined”, specifies the Drees.
Among general practitioners, the highest paid 10% earned at least 3.8 times more than the lowest paid 10% in 2017. For specialists, this ratio is higher, at 5.7 . Among the specialties with the greatest income gaps are ophthalmology, gynecology, psychiatry and radiotherapy: the top 10% of physicians earn about six times as much as the bottom 10% in each of these specialties. Conversely, in anaesthesia-resuscitation, gastroenterology, medical imaging, pneumology, cardiology and oncology, incomes are relatively more homogeneous, with a ratio between the 10% best paid and the 10% lowest lowest paid less than 4.
Overall revenue growth
Between 2014 and 2017, doctors’ earned income grew by an average of 1.9% per year in constant euros (ie after deducting inflation). The increase was higher for specialists (+2.2%) than for general practitioners (+1.7%). “These changes vary according to the contract sector: specialists working in sector 2 saw their income increase by an average of 1.9%, while the increase reached 2.3% for those applying enforceable tariffs (sector 1)” , say the experts. “The evolution of activity income by specialty highlights contrasting trends between 2014 and 2017”, they continue.
Radiotherapists, ophthalmologists and cardiologists experienced strong increases in their income (respectively +7.3%, +3.4%, +2.7% per year on average). During the same period, the incomes of rheumatologists and paediatricians fell slightly (respectively -0.3% and -0.5%).
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