An analysis by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office concludes that the net annual income of self-employed physicians in Switzerland is 162,455 francs. All those who additionally work as an affiliated physician or run their own practice pharmacy can be pleased. Moreover, men earn significantly better than women – no surprise there.
(red) For the fourth time, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO) conducted the survey on the structural data of medical practices and outpatient centers MAS. One of these is devoted for the first time separately to the income of self-employed physicians in private practice in Switzerland. It is based on data from 6472 self-employed physicians owned by a sole proprietorship. In 2019, the average annual income was 204,985 Swiss francs, according to the analysis, which corresponded to an average hourly wage of CHF 115. While wages were lowest in psychiatry, with an average hourly wage of CHF 93, they were highest in those specialties with surgical activities. Working as an affiliated physician, which is particularly common in the surgical fields and in obstetrics, as well as having one’s own practice pharmacy also have a positive effect on income. However, the latter is only allowed in some German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. Medication dispensing by the practice was associated with an increase in earnings of about 18%, and an attending practice was associated with an increase in earnings of about 11%. Benefits covered by supplementary or accident insurance are also profitable. It is therefore not surprising that the average hourly wage of those physicians in whose practice less than 60% of patients were treated under the mandatory health insurance scheme was particularly high at CHF 132. However, KVG patient encounters accounted for at least 90% of cases in most practices. On average, the income generated from KVG benefits was 88% of total income. As in other industries, the gender gap cannot be overlooked in the analysis of salaries for self-employed physicians. All other things being equal, physicians earned an average of 25% more than their female counterparts in 2019. The higher employment rate among men only partially explains this striking difference, which can be expressed in the average hourly wage. This amounted to CHF 122 for male physicians and CHF 103 for female physicians. However, the proportion of women is increasing. If women accounted for only 35% of those aged 55 to 64 in 2019, they accounted for 58% of those under 45.
Further reading:
- Medical practices in 2019 – Statistics of medical practices and ambulatory centers (MAS). Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Neuchâtel, 2021. www.statistik.ch
InFo NEUROLOGY & PSYCHIATRY 2022; 20(2): 40.
