Recently, a report on the salary of doctors in the United States in 2024 has once again attracted widespread attention. According to the report, the average annual salary of doctors in the United States in 2023 is as high as $363,000, especially for doctors engaged in orthopedics and plastic surgery, the annual salary is more than $500,000, which is staggering.
In stark contrast, the average annual income of mainland doctors is only 94,000 yuan, and even the highest-paid oncologists earn only 288,000 yuan per year. Is the reason for the huge disparity in doctors' incomes between the two countries related to a number of factors, such as the medical system and the allocation of resources?
Differences in health care systems are an important reason for the disparity
American doctors can be said to be a market-oriented, high-paying profession, and their income is completely determined by supply and demand. Due to the growing elderly population in the United States, the need for medical care is growing.
In the United States, medical resources are concentrated, and specialist doctors have a long training period, high skill difficulty, and high work intensity. Based on these objective conditions, U.S. medical institutions, whether public or private, need to provide high remuneration to attract and retain excellent doctors.
In contrast, the salary level of doctors in mainland China is affected by more constraints, such as policy guidance and medical fund allocation. In particular, the lack of incentive mechanism in grassroots hospitals makes it difficult for doctors to have development opportunities and broad prospects, which affects their enthusiasm and work efficiency.
In addition, mainland doctors often have to face pressure such as medical disputes, but there is a lack of effective safeguards. Together, these factors have dragged down the working environment and remuneration of doctors in mainland China.
The unequal distribution of medical resources leads to income disparities
The United States has obvious advantages in the concentration of medical resources, such as sufficient advanced medical equipment and leading medical technology. This provides the conditions for doctors to seek high salaries. However, the distribution of medical resources in mainland China is uneven, and the resources of large cities are concentrated but the primary hospitals are still facing a scarcity. This has led to significant differences in the working environment and treatment of doctors in urban and rural areas and in different regions.
According to the survey, the annual income of rural doctors in mainland China is only 50,000 yuan, and the operating conditions are even worse, making it difficult to attract high-quality medical talents to the grassroots level. This has further widened income disparities.
Improving the treatment of doctors requires reducing pressure and improving incentive mechanisms
In order to truly increase the income of doctors in the mainland, we should not only stop at the level of giving direct economic subsidies, but also need to work hard from both the system and the environment. On the one hand, efforts should be made to improve medical insurance, strengthen medical dispute relief measures, and effectively reduce the work pressure of doctors.
On the other hand, the establishment of a performance-based compensation mechanism should be advocated to motivate doctors to realize their potential through bonuses and career promotion. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to primary medical education and training, promote the balanced allocation of medical resources, and provide a fair employment environment for all doctors.
Building such a long-term mechanism requires multi-faceted work.
Improve the medical insurance system. Consideration can be given to referring to the experience of developed countries, increasing basic medical insurance and supplementary insurance items, expanding insurance coverage and payment standards, and including part of the medical expenses in the scope of insurance reimbursement, so as to effectively reduce the financial burden of patients and doctors.
Improve the mechanism for resolving medical disputes in the country. For example, the establishment of professional lawyers and mediation teams to provide fair and efficient solutions to medical disputes, so that doctors can avoid irrational losses and focus on medical work.
Implement a performance-based remuneration system. For example, the establishment of a clear year-end bonus mechanism according to the doctor's practice level and performance, or the differentiated remuneration according to the department's business performance, will greatly enhance the enthusiasm and innovation ability of doctors.
Strengthen the construction of primary medical hardware. With more land financial support and preferential policies, we will improve medical care facilities and technical equipment in remote areas, and provide a modern working environment for grassroots medical staff.
Only through multi-angle and meticulous reform can we truly solve the root cause of the problem of doctors' salaries, so that the medical career and doctors can move towards a brighter road together.