Today, a doctor is one of the most sought-after specialties in the capital of the Russian Federation. Experienced and qualified medical workers are required both in municipal medical institutions and in private clinics.
Moscow is distinguished not only by its multi-million population, but also by its size. It's no secret that doctors in the capital receive higher salaries than in provincial regions and cities.
The average salary of a doctor in Moscow for 2020 is 142,447 RUB. But this does not mean that all doctors receive exactly this salary.
Salary directly depends on specialty, qualifications, work schedule and place of employment. Doctors in private clinics earn more than in public medical institutions.
Table: average monthly salaries of doctors in Moscow
| Name of doctor's specialization | Average salary per month in rubles |
| Obstetrician-gynecologist | from 57,000 to 89,000 |
| Allergist | from 62,000 to 75,000 |
| Anesthetist | from 83,000 to 102,000 |
| Chemotherapist | from 97,000 to 109,000 |
| Family doctor | from 69,000 to 92,000 |
| Radiologist | from 94 000 |
| Virologist | from 25,000 to 57,000 |
| Gastroenterologist | from 57,000 to 97,000 |
| Hematologist | from 57 000 |
| Geneticist | from 34,000 to 57,000 |
| Geriatrician | from 34,000 to 57,000 |
| Dermatologist | 80 000 |
| Nutritionist | from 51,000 to 103,000 |
| Infectious disease specialist | from 51,000 to 74,000 |
| Cardiologist | from 47,500 to 70,000 |
| Cosmetologist | from 82 500 |
| Cosmetologist assistant | from 51 000 |
| Speech therapist | from 39,300 to 58,200 |
| Chiropractor | from 46,100 to 69,000 |
| Local therapist | from 61 120 |
| Occupational Therapist | From 82 500 |
| Nurse | from 52,200 to 68,100 |
| Expert in narcology | from 52,800 to 80,000 |
| Neurologist | from 46,300 to 69,200 |
| Neuropathologist | from 72,000 to 88,000 |
| Neurosurgeon | from 57,000 to 80,000 |
| Oncologist | from 46,000 to 69,000 |
| Orthodontist | from 50,100 to 80,600 |
| Venereologist | from 115,000 |
| Orthopedist | from 81,000 to 140,000 |
| Otolaryngologist | from 55,100 to 74,600 |
| Ophthalmologist | from 50,600 to 80,200 |
| Pathologist | from 78 000 |
| Pediatrician | from 50,600 to 76,400 |
| Plastic surgeon | not less than 150,000 |
| Vascular surgeon | from 80 000 |
| Surgeon-proctologist | 100,000 RUB |
| Proctologist | from 82,000 to 93,000 |
| Psychiatrist | from 50,500 to 73,000 |
| Psychologist | from 48,400 to 76,600 |
| Dentist | from 50,500 to 96,000 |
| Dental Technician | from 52,000 to 89,000 |
| Pharmacist-analyst | from 56 200 |
| Pharmacist-technologist | from 52 200 |
| Pharmacist | from 58 500 |
| Pharmacist | from 53,700 to 64,100 |
| Vet | from 54,300 to 86,200 |
Table: average salaries of doctors in other areas
| Focus | Average salary (in RUB) |
| Psychotherapist | from 48 100 |
| Reanimatologist | from 27 000 |
| Rheumatologist | from 30 000 |
| Sex therapist | from 45 000 |
| Family doctor | from 43 000 |
| Emergency doctor (paramedic) | from 30,300 to 45,200 |
| Paramedic-laboratory assistant | 35 000 |
| Pre-trip inspection paramedic | 15 000 |
| Dental surgeon | 67 800 |
| Pediatric dentist | 55 000 |
| Dental assistant | 40 000 |
| Nurse | from 18,500 to 26,700 |
| Masseur | from 21 000 |
| Audiologist | from 40,000 to 45,000 |
| Toxicologist | 97 500 |
| Traumatologist | from 40,900 to 60,600 |
| Urologist | from 48,800 to 64,400 |
| Endocrinologist | from 40,000 to 60,000 |
| Dermatocosmetologist | 75 000 |
| Reproductologist | 75 000 |
| School psychologist | 35 000 |
| General doctor | 81 250 |
The level of salaries paid to doctors worries many Russians. Every medical worker hopes for payment that corresponds to the level of intensity and intensity of his work, but hopes are not always justified. The money received is barely enough to pay for travel to work and home, make utility bills, and buy necessary clothing, food, and household chemicals. Not to mention the fact that during the holidays I would like to get my health in order after a busy year of work...
Of course, medical workers deserve decent salaries, because their main mission is to protect the health of Russian citizens, and the professional path of a physician is far from the easiest. At the same time, the level of salaries of health workers does not correspond at all to the realities of the Russian economy. The salaries paid by state medical institutions are far from the level of private clinics, not to mention the salaries of foreign doctors.
The authorities promise that soon the medical profession in Russia will become prestigious and salaries will be high. Will they keep their promise this time?
In 2019, the authorities promised to do everything to ensure that this problem ceases to be relevant, and Russian medicine returns to the number of financially prestigious professions. However, alarm bells regarding the financing of the medical sector have not stopped ringing. Let's talk about what real changes those who have dedicated their lives to protecting the health of Russians can count on.
How are doctors' salaries determined?
The total amount paid to doctors is summed up from the following components:
- direct salary amount;
- additional payments taking into account the complexity of work and intensity of workload;
- additional payment taking into account length of service and assigned category;
- compensatory surcharges and adjustment factors that are adopted in each individual region.
When revising wages for certain categories of employees, only their first component – salary – increases. It is he who is subject to mandatory indexing. However, doctors' base salaries are typically low, and much of their monthly funding comes from bonuses, part-time jobs, and overtime. This is becoming a serious problem, because the indexation of salaries in 2019 will affect their size very little, and the calculation of additional payments today is completely entrusted not to the state, but to the management of medical institutions.
Analysis of the current situation
They promised to raise the salaries of doctors to 200% of the regional average! Let us recall that five years ago the President of the Russian Federation issued the so-called May decrees. According to the orders set out in this document, already in 2018, the level of remuneration for doctors should increase to 200% in comparison with the average regional salary payments.
Regional authorities claim that this order is already being implemented - back in 2017, in most territorial subjects of the Russian Federation, doctors’ wages became equal to 180% of the regional average salary. Olga Golodets, who holds the post of head of the social sphere of the Russian Federation, assured Russians that the country’s budget has allocated funding to further increase the salaries of health workers, and October 2017 has already been marked by a salary indexation of 5.5%.
However, the increase in wages recorded by statistical agencies is explained by the so-called “optimization”. Many medical institutions today are simply laying off staff, which is causing the consolidation and consolidation of entire departments. According to some reports, in the last five years alone, about 90,000 people who previously worked in public medical institutions have been fired or transferred to other jobs. Those who still hold on to their jobs are forced to work under conditions of ever-increasing workload - working at one and a half times the rate and regularly taking night shifts.
Let's say even more - despite such labor feats, doctors complain about a drop in real income levels. This is because the total amounts are formed by adding the variable and salary parts. Many heads of medical institutions carried out the May decree very simply - they raised salaries and reduced additional payments. Now in most territorial subjects of the Russian Federation, doctors receive about 30 thousand rubles, and junior and mid-level medical staff - about 20 thousand rubles.
So far, as salaries increase, doctors’ real incomes only fall Health workers representing the Jewish Autonomy, the Nenets District, Ingushetia and the Arkhangelsk Region say that they are receiving less than before the “increase” in salaries. Doctors from 25 regions reported that about a thousand rubles were added to their salaries, and Voronezh and Altai doctors amazed the public by declaring that their increase amounted to 32-53 rubles! If you look at the situation from a regional perspective, you can come to the following conclusions:
- The minimum average salary received by doctors in Kalmykia is 27.3 thousand monthly. Ulyanovsk medical workers receive an average of 30 thousand rubles, Samara – 35 thousand rubles, Penza – 33.4 thousand, Ossetian – 28 thousand;
- The situation is slightly better for those who work in Sakhalin and Chukotka, in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug - regional authorities increased the salaries of local doctors by about 6 thousand rubles, and now the average doctor’s income is 117 thousand monthly;
- If we take individual categories of health workers (for example, analyze payments to general practitioners), then significant regional disproportions are visible to the naked eye. In the capital, such a doctor receives about 60 thousand rubles, but as soon as he starts working in the region, his salary immediately drops to 45 thousand.
Alas, these statistical calculations do not quite realistically reflect the current financial situation in Russia. Since 2017, employees of this department have jointly calculated the average salary of doctors who work in clinics of all forms of ownership. At the same time, salaries in a city hospital are significantly lower than in private medical institutions. Well, if we compare with payments accrued to foreign doctors, the situation looks completely deplorable - for example, American therapists earn on average 416 thousand rubles, French ones - 200 thousand, and German ones - 225 thousand rubles.
The government comments on the situation with regional imbalances, explaining it by high premiums in the northern regions. Well, the rest of the doctors need to deal with local authorities, since the federal budget is formed every year taking into account the increase in salaries. The maximum that can be done is to split the increase into two parts: first, salaries will be increased at the federal level, and then at the regional level, taking into account local coefficients.
We also note that the head of the Ministry of Labor, Maxim Topilin, assured the public: in 2018, the federal budget will allocate 80 billion rubles to finance the salaries of health workers. He mentioned the “capita standard” (the amount allocated per year for each person assigned to a medical institution under a health insurance policy), which is planned to increase by 21.7%. As a result, this will cost the treasury about 333.2 billion in national currency.
Given the problems with financing the Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund, it is possible that the government will refuse to implement the May decrees In the last speech of Anton Siluanov, who heads the Ministry of Finance, it was said that on average the salaries of public sector employees will increase by 23%, and the planned growth by industry will reach 4.1%, that is, salaries will be adjusted to take into account inflation. Thus, by the beginning of 2019, all financial obligations set out in the May presidential decrees will be fully fulfilled. As a result, average medical staff are guaranteed payments identical to the national average, and highly qualified public sector employees (doctors) receive salaries twice as high as the average.
Let us remind you that the salaries of employees financed from the Russian budget will be increased in two stages - the first (by 4.1%) will take place in October 2018, and the second (by another 4%) in October 2019. The minister said that as a result, state employees will receive an increase that will be significantly higher than inflationary manifestations.
The capital's mayor reported that in 2017-2018, salaries of health workers increased by 40%. Already in 2018, the average salary will be 140 thousand rubles, which is 2 times higher than the average monthly Moscow salary! However, the health workers themselves deny such information - they say that the average salary for their work in the capital is 64.73 thousand rubles. However, the government has allocated 500 billion rubles for a three-year wage indexation, of which:
- 196.6 billion – in 2018;
- 219.5 billion – in 2019.
At the same time, it is necessary to note the rather alarming news that appeared in the media not so long ago. We are talking about problems with financing the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund, which is replenished from contributions from wages of employees. According to plans, the Fund should be replenished by 1.89 trillion rubles in 2018, by 1.93 trillion in 2019 and by 2.1 trillion in 2020.
However, now the government believes that this is not enough. Already at the beginning of 2019, the Fund will reach a state of deficit. To cover it, it will be necessary to allocate 95.5 billion rubles from the budget in national currency, and in another year - to finance 170.4 billion rubles. Auditors of the Accounts Chamber came to the conclusion that already in 2018 the Fund will not have enough money to pay salaries to health workers, and the amount of the shortfall will be 43.1 billion rubles.
Previously, doctors were informed that it was the Fund’s reserves that would ensure an increase in their salaries. Now there is not enough money for the May decrees, since this Fund must finance, first of all, the purchase of equipment to provide high-tech medical care. As a result, the former head of the Ministry of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, proposed suspending the implementation of the May decrees so that the increase in salaries would not lead to a decrease in expenses for the purchase of medicines, ordering the latest equipment and repair work.
Some government members have proposed increasing insurance premiums charged to the wealthiest Russians. It is quite possible that this will help resolve the issue of increasing salaries for doctors. Statistical departments, having combined the salaries of public and “private” doctors when calculating the salaries, will ultimately receive an average figure for the Federation in the amount of 47-50 thousand rubles per month.
However, in reality, this can be achieved in a simpler way - through massive layoffs and an increase in the number of rates per health worker. Naturally, a doctor who works two hours will receive twice as much. Another question is how will this increased intensity of work ultimately affect patients and the quality of their treatment, or the health of the doctor himself?..
Despite the fact that the medical industry in Russia is declared a strategic priority for the focus of internal reforms, the state of material support for both the medical institutions themselves and medical workers leaves much to be desired. The government says that this “period of turbulence” is short-lived. Starting from 2018, the activities of a doctor, nurse and paramedic will be able to return to the ranks of the most prestigious Russian professions. Are there economic prerequisites for the implementation of the stated plans? What salary can Russian doctors expect in 2018?
How much do doctors earn in the Russian Federation?
In order to have an idea of how a medical worker’s remuneration is formed, let’s look at the main components of his salary. What does the monthly income of a doctor, nurse, paramedic consist of?
first of all, this is the official salary;
secondly, this is an additional payment for intensity, increased loads, and, in general, the specifics of the work;
thirdly, these are bonuses for qualifications and length of service;
The regional coefficient and other payments are also included in the salary.
Despite such segmentation, it is precisely bonuses and allowances that make up the majority of the salary, while if the salary subject to indexation is set centrally by industry officials, then the amount of additional payments for intensity and other bonuses are determined in the medical institution itself, and can be accrued as , and were cancelled.
This arrangement caused a slight decline in the income of doctors in 2015-2016 - the salary increase simultaneously suspended the ability to pay a number of other bonuses, which caused obvious discontent among workers. Such a drop in the income of doctors was recorded in the Arkhangelsk region, Dagestan, Ingushetia, the Jewish Autonomy and other regions.
What salary do doctors and nurses receive, according to statistics? 30 thousand rubles and 20 thousand rubles, respectively, are the monthly income of doctors in most Russian regions.
The salary of Kalmyk doctors is minimal - their monthly salary is only 27,300 rubles per month. Doctors in North Ossetia do not receive much more - 28 thousand rubles per month. The situation is similar in Ulyanovsk - doctors with higher education have an income of 30 thousand rubles.
The highest salaries among Russian doctors are received by doctors in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, Chukotka and Sakhalin. Their bonuses allow them to receive a salary, in some cases, exceeding 100-115 thousand rubles.
Such income inequality in the context of a regional link is widespread and affects all categories of doctors. So, for example, Moscow therapists receive more than 60 thousand rubles a month, and their colleagues in the region receive 15 thousand less. General practitioners in Kamchatka can expect a salary of no more than 40 thousand rubles.
On top of that, we note that the real salary figures for public sector doctors may be much lower - in its information, Rosstat takes into account the salary figures for doctors, both public and private medical institutions, where the income of doctors and nurses is traditionally higher.
Will the salaries of Ministry of Health employees be increased in 2018: latest news
Already in October 2017, doctors’ salaries will be indexed by 5.5%, in line with the inflation rate. As for 2018, expert opinions are divided: some believe that increasing the minimum medical salary to 50 thousand rubles in the country is quite realistic, given that elections are coming next year. Other financial analysts agree that a partial increase in salaries will be realized through cuts in the industry - there is simply no money in the state budget to increase the salaries of the existing number of doctors in Russia. It is predicted that doctors will “pay for” their increased incomes since the beginning of 2018 by increasing their workload – up to 1.5 times the rate.
However, both sides present their forecasts with the utmost caution.
Government plans to increase salaries of Russian doctors
But Russian government officials are more bold in their assessment of the prospects for increasing salaries for medical industry workers. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets said that the increase in medical salaries to 200% announced earlier by President Putin in 2018 is quite realistic, and money has already been provided for these needs in the state budget. And, in general, the salary levels of doctors will be equalized in all regions of the Russian Federation.
Analysts have already managed to find a “loophole” in this statement: it is possible that a 200% increase in income will be made relative to salaries at the 2012 level - we recall that it was then, according to the “May decrees” of the President of the Russian Federation, that a program was launched to increase the salaries of public sector workers, and the end date of the program should be 2018.
Many things in the state are interconnected, and everyone is well aware of how close the relationship is between the level of wages of workers in medical institutions and the quality of the services they provide. Today information about What will be the salary increase for doctors in 2018?, is considered especially relevant among the population, because any Russian is worried about his health and wants to receive truly high-quality medical services, and without high payment from the state, this goal will not be achieved. 
Olga Golodets, when discussing the effect of the “May” presidential decrees, made a sensational statement, saying that from 2018, the income of doctors will increase by 200% compared to the level of 2012. According to her, the money for this event is included in the state budget, and the decision has already been confirmed by members of the government, therefore, no one plans to change it. Doctors must receive decent wages, because otherwise they will simply not be able to perform their duties efficiently and effectively, and everyone without exception can suffer from this.
The salaries of people who are employed in the medical field today differ depending on the territorial location of the medical institution in which they are employed. The highest incomes today are among those doctors who work in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but soon the difference between them will decrease, because the increase in salaries in the healthcare system in 2018 in the Russian Federation will occur unevenly, so that all representatives of this profession receive approximately the same money. 
Detailed calculations
Today, the wages of medical workers consist of salary, additional payments (compensations) and allowances. The Ministry of Health increased the salaries of medical workers (in accordance with the presidential decree), but practice shows that it is precisely due to this that the overall level of wages decreases, because additional payments and compensations become much smaller. Compensations are accrued by the head of the organization on a voluntary basis, therefore, they can be lost for almost any reason.
Think about it what will happen to doctors' salaries today it is also due to the fact that the new methodology for assessing working conditions has shown itself in practice from an extremely negative side, because today compensation payments are paid specifically on the basis of an assessment of the workplace, and does not depend in any way on the position held by a person. Previously, the position was extremely important and additional payments were calculated on its basis, which is why their amount was larger. 
Consequences of rising wages
The price of a rapid increase in wages may be too high, because there is a crisis in the country and there is a catastrophic lack of money to restore the financial well-being of public sector employees. According to expert forecasts, salaries of medical workers should increase from “average” 35,000 rubles to practically 50,000 rubles, But if you believe the words of medical workers, they did not feel much of a difference between their past and current incomes. Moreover, more than 5,000 people from different regions of the country took part in the social issue on this issue, and the bulk of the people surveyed said that their salaries today do not exceed 20,000 rubles.
Only the growth of “black gold” can positively change the current situation, because only these funds can be spent on salary increase for doctors in 2018 in Russia, latest news, True, the situation on this issue is still disappointing, because oil remains at a consistently low level. Considering the above situation, one cannot help but say that it will simply be impossible to increase the real income of doctors (at least in reality, although on paper growth is possible, because a similar practice has already taken place in past years).
With a 100% guarantee we can only say that it will remain mandatory indexation of doctors' salaries, which in 2018 will correspond to the level of real inflation. The indicator coefficient was determined by the government at 4.5% (preliminarily), which will allow doctors’ salaries to increase precisely by the percentage of inflation, and they will not feel the increase in the cost of food and services. There was no talk about additional indexing, which was practiced previously. 