Study finds Swiss hospital doctors earn huge salaries
Chief physicians at Swiss hospitals earn up to CHF2.5 million ($2.7 million) per year, a study has found.
Most earn between CHF350,000 and CHF1.5 million, according to a salary specialist who looked into the matter for Swiss public televisionExternal link. Urs Klinger has been researching the topic for five years. His figures are based on data from 174 Swiss hospitals.
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“One in four head or attending doctors (not employed by the hospital but able to use the facilities when treating own patients) earns more than CHF1.5 million. It can be as much as CHF2.5 million,” Klinger told the “Rundschau” current affairs programme on Wednesday. He pointed out that a doctor typically earns a percentage of the hospital’s income.
“Every operation increases his salary,” said Klinger, adding that private patients could be billed separately. Critics point out that this encourages unnecessary treatments – which is a burden on the healthcare system and increases insurance premiums.
Home Affairs Minister Alain Berset is calling for more transparency on the subject of doctors’ salaries. Last year he commissioned a report on how healthcare costs could be reduced.
The Swiss association of head hospital physicians declined to comment to Rundschau.
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