Reality cheque: how much do doctors earn?

Ban on private practice sparks debate on the salaries given to medical professionals in the government vs private sector 

The Telangana government’s decision to ban private practice by soon-to-be recruited doctors for State-run hospitals has sparked a discussion on the disparity in salaries in the government and corporate healthcare sectors.

The ban on private practice does not apply to the existing doctors. The new order has triggered uproar among students pursuing medicine, senior residents, and even some doctors, who wondered if aspiring medicos would prefer to take up jobs in government hospitals.

A discussion with senior government doctors, officials, management heads of corporate hospitals, post-graduates and super-specialists, threw up a unanimous viewpoint — very few stop their academic journey after completing MBBS. The reason is that corporate hospitals in Hyderabad pay only ₹25,000 to ₹40,000 monthly salary to those with just an MBBS degree, which takes 5.5 years to achieve.

Senior doctors opine that most medicos now aspire to pursue a super-specialty course. “Salaries of those with only an MBBS degree might not increase as they quit the job within a few months or a year of joining. They usually do not plan to settle down in the job with just an MBBS degree,” says the CEO of a corporate hospital.

Payment for doctors with post-graduation or super-specialty degree is broadly covered under two or three categories — fee for service (a certain percentage in charges per case goes to the doctors); a monthly salary; and then there is another form of payment in which a team of doctors is paid a fixed package.

Senior doctors and hospital CEOs said the ‘fee for service’ is usually opted for by experienced medical professionals since they can get patients based on their prominence — an advantage not available to newbies.

But what are the salaries offered by corporate hospitals to post-graduates, and those holding a super-specialty degree? “It is all subjective” was the common response of most corporate hospital managements and doctors.