Physicians in general practice in the United States earn $139,290 per year. In Canada, the pay for family practice physicians is C$119,783 ($93,662) annually, while the physician salary in the United Kingdom stands at £50,691 ($68,764) per year.
The median salary for general practice physicians in Australia is AU$101,888 ($76,255) per year, while the mean pay is CHF131,117 ($130,573) for physicians living in Switzerland and NOK1,590,272 ($197,568) for those practicing in Norway.
Physician Salary Influencers
The pay of physicians depends on factors such as the setting and geographic area of practice and experience. Depending on the location of practice, physicians may have opportunities for bonuses for working in underserved areas. The salary information we have in this article was gathered from different sources: Payscale, BLS, SalaryExpert.
1. Industry
Physicians practice in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, and private offices. Many are self-employed. The compensation of physicians, whether self-employed or a salaried employee, is influenced by the source of funds. The United States healthcare system has a mix of private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid to compensate physicians for their services.
- Offices of Physicians – $238,540
- Outpatient Care Centers – $231,970
- General Medical and Surgical Hospitals – $177,790
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, and Norway have single-payer health systems. Thus, the government generally sets compensation rates. In the United Kingdom, physicians normally work for the National Health Service.
2. Geographical Area
Physician Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | Switzerland | Norway |
Hourly Wage | $78.14 | C$44.00 ($34.43) | £30.00 ($40.62) | AU$60.32 ($45.12) | CHF63.03* ($62.76) | NOK765 ($94.95) |
Annual Wage | $139,290 | C$119,783 ($93,662) | £50,691 ($68,764) | £50,691 ($68,764) | CHF131,117 ($130,573) | NOK1,590,272 ($197,568) |
*The hourly pay is estimated based on the yearly pay information.
Physician Salary in the US
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that physicians and surgeons in the United States earned about $211,390 per year, as of May 2017. While Payscale states that general practice physicians living in the US make about $139,290 each year, information updated in May 2018.
Physician Salary in Canada
The median pay for physicians in Canada stands at C$119,783 per year, while the hourly rate is generally between C$17.00 and C$144. The total pay for all experience levels ranges between C$52,378 and C$230,065 each year. These professionals can also win around C$100 per hour when staying overtime.
Physician Salary in the UK
Physicians in the United Kingdom earn between £29,176 and £102,180 each year. Their median yearly pay stands at £50,691, and the hourly rate at £30.00. When they register overtime they get paid between £14.54 and £99.67 per hour. With bonuses of up to £18,246 each year and profit sharing of up to £35,000, they get a total yearly salary ranging between £28,980 and £108,709.
Physician Salary in Australia
PayScale reports that the median pay for a general practice physician is AU$101,888 per year. While the hourly pay is of AU$60.32. They also get paid for overtime, around AU$10.30 to AU$201 per hour. With the total yearly salary ranging between AU$51,208 and AU$234,649 per year.
Physician Salary in Switzerland
The same professionals working in Switzerland can fetch up to CHF131,117 per year. While their total pay spans from CHF 21,229 to CHF 231,749 per year.
Physician Salary in Norway
A physician practitioner from Norway earns a median salary of NOK1,590,272 per year, while the hourly pay is of NOK765. They also get bonuses of up to NOK65,519 per year, while the total pay ranges between NOK1,074,230 for beginners, to about NOK2,057,863 for seniors in the field.
3. Experience
Beginner physicians from the US win $109,000 per year, the pay gradually rises getting up to $145,000 after 5-10 years. The pay remains the same for these professionals after 10-20 years on the job. While only after an experience of more than 20 years in the field they see a rise of up to $175,000 per year.
In Canada, entry-level physicians earn a median pay of C$102,000. At five to ten years of experience, the median stands at C$122,000. They pay rises again until it reaches C$144,000 after ten to twenty years on the job. Physicians who reach 20 years and more have a median pay of C$148,000.
Junior hospital trainees in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service start at £26,614 in the first “Foundation” year and £30,805 in Foundation year 2. Those who pursue specialist training begin at £36,461 and advance to £46,208 at the end of the training.
Entry-level physician practitioners in Australia have a median salary of AU$97,000. The median generally rises after five to ten years of experience up to AU$123,000 per year. While after ten more years it reaches AU$129,000. Moreover, in the late-career stage, after about 20 years it goes back to AU$125,000 per year.
Working Hours
Physicians generally work full-time. The type of setting will shape the work hours and shifts. Those in clinics and offices normally hold daytime and weekday hours. Some physicians’ clinics and offices open in the evenings and weekends to accommodate patients’ work schedules or those who need urgent care beyond daytime hours.
Hospital physicians often must work long shifts, between 12 to 24 hours at a time, and often pull late night, weekend and holiday duty. Often physicians must be on call. The Canadian Medical Association reports that family medicine physicians averaged 26 hours per month on call in 2014. If you want to know more about the physician profession, you can also read about the neurosurgeon salary.
Bonuses & Benefit Packages
Depending on the country, physicians receive bonuses for performance, providing certain services or practicing in areas, especially rural or underserved regions. Physicians working in Canada can receive bonuses of up to C$2,599 per year, and they can also earn incentives for accepting patients who do not already have a family physician.
General practice doctors in the United States receive bonuses between $1,000 and $37,500 per year. Meanwhile, they also earn yearly profit sharing from $30.41 to $39,453 each year, and commissions of up to $2,750. While physicians working and living in Australia earn bonuses, as reported by PayScale that can reach up to AU$39,731 every year.
In Australia, Switzerland, and Norway, salaried physicians are entitled to paid annual leave and contributions by their employers to pension funds. Switzerland operates a three-tier retirement system which funds benefits through mandatory and voluntary employer contributions and Old Age and Survivors/Disability Insurance. In the United Kingdom, physicians in the National Health Service can receive their pension benefits at age 55.
Job Outlook
Overall, an aging population, more awareness of preventative care and increased access to health insurance will sustain the demand for general practice physicians. However, increased advancements in technology and the expansion of the permitted scope of practice for nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants may stunt somewhat this growth. These professionals are increasingly becoming able to perform functions once left to physicians.
Certain countries may experience shortages of family or general physicians. The Canadian Government’s “Job Bank” predicts that, by 2024, Canada will have 28,300 job openings for “General practitioners and family physicians.” By that time, there will be 12,100 seekers of these positions.
As reported by Le News, an expected retirement of six in ten family doctors could leave Switzerland with a shortage of 2,000 members of this field by 2020. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service could face a deficit of 16,000 primary care physicians by 2020 due to Brexit.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that, by 2026, the United States will have an additional need of 42,300 physicians and surgeons, and 19,200 of family and general practitioners. This represents a job demand increase of 11, respectively 14 percent. While in 2016, the United States had an estimate of 372,400 physicians and surgeons employees, and 134,800 family and general practitioners.
Conclusion
With either the government or private insurers as the main sources of payments, most general and family practice physicians may have legal or contractually-imposed caps on fees and earnings. However, opportunities to enhance pay comes with experience, more patients, as well as finding incentives for certain types of treatment or practicing in certain areas.
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