Top hospital doctors in Israel earn over NIS 1 million a year, study finds

The Treasury’s chief economist published a study on Sunday analyzing 2023 pay for doctors at Israeli government hospitals, separating public and private income. The review covered 4,636 specialist doctors, all specialists employed in state hospitals other than psychiatric or geriatric facilities.

Across the sample, the average specialist doctor earned about NIS 772,000 a year. Roughly NIS 524,000 came from public medicine, about 73% of total pay, and another NIS 248,000 came from private practice. By specialty, plastic surgery paid the most, with average annual income of about NIS 1.11 million, mostly from private work. Dermatology, thoracic and cardiac surgery, and anesthesiology followed. The lowest-paid fields were pediatrics, psychiatry, and internal medicine, largely because they had almost no private income.

The report also found that hospitals in central Israel had a relatively high share of doctors whose entire public salary came through research funds, which may indicate that the funds are being used to fill staffing gaps. An econometric analysis suggested especially heavy use of research funds in radiology, and also in dermatology, neurosurgery, gynecology, urology, and thoracic and cardiac surgery. A comparison with Clalit hospitals found that doctors in government hospitals earned more from private practice than their peers there. Average self-employed income was about NIS 144,000 a year, or 19% of doctors’ total average income.

Doctors in peripheral hospitals earned about 10% more than those in central hospitals in 2023, entirely because of public-sector pay, where the gap reached about 19%. The ministry noted this fits the 2011 wage agreement, which gave peripheral hospital doctors a 20% raise versus similar doctors in the center. Private income rose sharply with seniority, from about NIS 90,000 for doctors with 0 to 9 years of experience to about NIS 181,000 for those with 10 to 14 years, and peaked at about NIS 402,000 for those with 40 years or more. The report said older doctors may reduce hospital work but continue substantial private practice. Overall income climbed with experience until the 35 to 39 year bracket, then declined slightly, though the oldest group was small, with 145 doctors versus 239 in the 35 to 39 group, and had an average age of 72. The data also showed that more than half of doctors in the two highest pay deciles worked at Sheba and Ichilov, suggesting that the best-paid doctors are concentrated there.