26 family doctors in Quebec will join the millionaires club by 2022, a record

While the health network has been paralyzed by employee strikes demanding better pay, 267 doctors made more than $1 million last year.

According to the latest data from the Régie de l’assurance santé du Québec (RAMQ), a general surgeon will earn more than $2.5 million in 2022.

In 2022, five doctors surpassed $2 million, although there were fewer millionaires overall than last year.

26 family doctors

While most of the millionaire doctors are specialists, 26 general practitioners made it to this select club last year. This is a record for family doctors, compared to only 7 in 2014.

The highest-paid general practitioner reported earnings of more than $1.7 million.

Marc-André Amiot, president of the Fédération des Omnipractices du Québec (FMOQ), responded, “It remains a small phenomenon.”. You have to work hours and hours and hours.

According to him, general practitioners who reach this amount work at least six days a week, see a lot of patients and often perform on-call duties.

However, the number of millionaire doctors has been increasing drastically over the past ten years due to the generous provision of doctors.

However, this increase in income does not translate into an increase in access or health services, notes Nadia Soriel, an assistant professor at the University of Montreal’s School of Public Health.

Review price

“It’s a good time to discuss what’s going on with the strike [et] To review how to motivate all the professionals in the network,” hopes to work in the field of management, evaluation and health policy.

He believes that fee-for-service harms collaboration and avoids delegation of tasks.

M^me Sourial adds that technological advances are greatly simplifying previously long and complicated medical procedures.

“But pricing is not fixed, although we can do more […] Are we giving each medical procedure the right value in terms of time and complexity? he asks, pointing out that ophthalmologists and radiologists are overrepresented among millionaire doctors.

David Levin, a former health minister and 37-year veteran of the health network, believes technological advances benefit doctors, but not taxpayers. Reading X-rays.

Ceiling Income

Also, the Federation of Specialized Doctors of Quebec (FMSQ) ordered a functional analysis in 2022 to limit the income of millionaire doctors.

But last March, the union indicated it had not found a proper way to limit income without harming medical practices.

According to the FMSQ analysis, doctors with higher incomes often work in remote areas and on an emergency basis.

In recent years, the Institute for the Appropriateness of Medical Practices has identified $240 million in medical practices that have been removed from specialty physicians’ budget envelopes.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, up to 30% of physicians’ income is used for office or equipment expenses.