New study reveals:

This is how much money doctors in Austria earn per year

General practitioners, paediatricians, orthopaedists, internists, radiologists and more - a study shows how rich doctors are.

(Bild: dpa/Tobias Hase)

A new study proves it: Studying medicine usually pays off more financially than studying business administration: the IHS Institute has now taken a close look at how much doctors in Austria really earn. General practitioners, pediatricians, orthopedists, internists, radiologists, etc. - who has the highest income?

The study by the Institute for Advanced Studies shows: In Austria, a "typical" doctor has a very high income. IHS health economist Thomas Czypionka has now calculated how much statutory health insurance physicians and how much elective physicians receive per year after deducting all costs. These are amounts that average workers and employees can only dream of. The IHS also investigated which doctors - general practitioners, orthopaedists, internists, etc. - earn the most.

Doctors in private practice earn high incomes
On behalf of the umbrella organization of social insurance institutions (DVSV), the IHS examined the development of the income of registered doctors in the years 2015 to 2022. The researchers took into account income from both self-employed and employed work. Important: The doctors' income shown in the study already includes expenses for staff (possibly also family members), operating costs, social security contributions and IT costs. Only taxes still have to be paid. It is therefore not a question of turnover, but of the doctors' reported personal income.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock Adobe)

Contract doctors or elective doctors - who earns more?
The study shows that whether or not contracts with health insurance providers exist has an influence on the level of income. A direct comparison of the groups of doctors - contract doctors with contracts with all health insurance funds and elective doctors - shows clear differences in median income: In 2022, doctors with contracts with all health insurance funds earned a median of 201,306 euros, almost twice as much as elective doctors. Median always means: 50 percent in this group (e.g. of panel doctors) earn more, 50 percent earn less.

"The income of doctors as a whole has risen very significantly in recent years. In a direct comparison of the different groups, it is particularly striking that it pays off to work as a contract doctor for the health insurance funds," says Andreas Huss, Chairman of the Conference of Social Insurance Institutions. "Doctors with contracts with all health insurance funds had a very good median personal income of around 200,000 euros in 2022. The health insurance contract is therefore very attractive financially."

Andreas Huss, Chairman of the Conference of Social Insurance Institutions: "The health insurance contract is therefore financially very attractive."

(Bild: Christian Forcher)

In comparison, the median income of all elective physicians - i.e. exclusively self-employed elective physicians and self-employed and employed elective physicians combined - was "only" 100,849 euros.

Doctors in the fields of laboratory and pathology are the highest earners
The study also reveals another key factor for the level of income: the specialist group to which the doctor belongs. In 2022, for example, doctors in the technical fields of laboratory and pathology earned by far the highest incomes: The range of their income goes from 100,000 euros to over 1.8 million euros (see under area of the graph). This is followed by doctors specializing in radiology. Internists recorded the third highest income. Pediatricians and general practitioners, on the other hand, tended to be at the lower end of the income scale.

Development of income by gender
The authors of the study also examined gender-specific differences in income. There is a difference between men and women in all groups of doctors. The income of female contract doctors accounted for 74.4 percent of the income of their male colleagues. In absolute figures, women earned a median of 170,906 euros in 2022, while their male colleagues earned 228,711 euros.

Statutory health insurance physicians in rural areas earn more
"The analysis also shows that panel doctors in rural areas earn higher median incomes than those in urban areas," says IHS study director Thomas Czypionka. "This makes it clear that rural regions offer attractive financial prospects for doctors, even if income is of course by no means the only motivating factor."

IHS study director Thomas Czypionka: "Panel doctors in rural areas achieve higher incomes than in urban areas."

(Bild: IHS)

Panel doctors in rural areas earned a median of 206,902 euros in 2022, compared to 190,815 euros in urban areas. The picture was the opposite for elective doctors: Their median income was higher in urban areas (102,582 euros) than in rural areas (94,341 euros).

Huss: "The study confirms that it is financially attractive for panel doctors to work in rural areas. This is an important finding, especially as vacancies in rural areas are often perceived by the public as less attractive and more difficult to fill. Problems in filling vacancies in rural areas are therefore not mainly related to a lack of financial incentives."

Home pharmacy as a source of money
The study also investigated the influence of having a practice dispensary on the level of income. General practitioners with contracts with all health insurance funds and a medicine cabinet recorded a median income of 263,854 euros in 2022, significantly higher than those without a medicine cabinet, where the median income was 189,104 euros.