OECD Centres Germany Berlin (49-3) 288 8353 Japan Tokyo (81-3) 5532-21 Mexico Mexico (52-55) 5281 381 United States Washington (1-22) 785 6323 AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA BELGIUM CANADA CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE HUNGARY ICELAND IRELAND ITALY JAPAN KOREA LUXEMBOURG MEXICO NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NORWAY POLAND PORTUGAL SLOVAK REPUBLIC SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TURKEY UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES PAC/COM/NEWS(29)17 Paris, 3 July 29 OECD Health Data 29 comparing health statistics across OECD countries The number of doctors per capita increased 2% per year on average across OECD countries between 199 and 27, but in some countries the trend is reversing. Some OECD countries hiring more foreign-trained doctors The number of doctors per capita in Italy has been falling since 23, but is still above average. In France, the number of doctors per capita started falling in 26 after a long upward trend. In both countries, the drops are due to fewer medical school graduates. Though France has recently increased the intake of medical students, the long training period means the number of doctors per capita will continue to decline in the coming decade. There are fewer medical graduates too in Japan and Switzerland, while in Canada and the U.S. graduate rates are increasing but are still low. Responding to demand for more doctors, the percentage of foreign-trained physicians has increased in many OECD countries. It nearly doubled in Switzerland and Sweden and tripled in Ireland and Finland between 2 and 27. In the U.S. and the U.K., about half the increase in the number of doctors was through international recruitment. General Practitioners underpaid compared to specialists Medical specialists earn more than general practitioners (GPs) in all OECD countries, with the gap widening in Australia, Finland, France and Hungary since 2. The U.K. has increased doctors pay in the last ten years and GPs now make almost as much as specialists. Though generalist primary care is a cost-effective way to promote good health, the number of specialists rose by 6% between 199 and 27, compared with a 23% increase in GPs. On average, there are now two specialists for every GP, and that number is even higher in Central and Eastern Europe and in Greece. Some countries have maintained a better balance between specialists and generalists (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, New Zealand and Portugal), but that s changing as the majority of medical students now choose to specialise. JT3267652 OECD Media Relations General Inquiries: Tel. (33) 1 45 24 97 - Fax. (33)1 45 24 8 3/94 37 Research & Documentation: Tel. (33) 1 45 24 8 88/8 89 www.oecd.org/media E-mail: news.contact@oecd.org Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France Tel. (33) 1 45 24 82 - Fax. (33) 1 45 24 85 www.oecd.org
These are some of the findings from OECD Health Data 29, the most comprehensive source of comparable statistics on health and health systems across the 3 OECD countries. Covering the period 196 to 27, this interactive database can be used for comparative analyses on: Health status Risk factors to health (including smoking and obesity) Health care resources and utilisation (including the supply and activities of doctors) Long-term care resources and utilisation Health expenditure and its financing Social protection (including public health coverage and private health insurance) Pharmaceutical markets For further information about the content of the database, please contact Mark Pearson (tel. 33 1 45 24 92 69) or Gaétan Lafortune (tel. 33 1 45 24 92 67) in the OECD Health Division. For more information, please go to the OECD Health Data 29 website at http://www.oecd.org/health/healthdata. List of charts (see detailed charts below) 1. Practising physicians per 1 population, OECD countries, 27 2. Growth in practising physicians per capita, 199 to 27 3. Medical graduates per 1 population, 27 4. Absolute number of medical graduates, selected OECD countries, 199 to 27 5. Trends in the share of foreign-trained doctors, selected OECD countries, 2 to 27 6. Contribution of foreign-trained doctors to the net increase in the number of practising doctors 2 to 27 7. General practitioners and specialists per 1 population, OECD countries, 27 8. Remuneration of general practitioners and specialists, ratio to GDP per capita, OECD countries, 27 (or latest year available) 9. Growth in remuneration of general practitioners and specialists, 1997 to 27 2
Chart 1. Practising physicians per 1 population, 27 Chart 2. Growth in practising physician per capita, 199 to 27 5.4 4. 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 1.7 Greece Belgium Netherlands 1 Norway Switzerland Austria Iceland Italy Spain 2 Sweden Czech Republic Portugal 1 Germany France Denmark OECD Slovak Republic Ireland 1 Finland Luxembourg Australia Hungary United Kingdom United States New Zealand 1 Poland Canada Japan Mexico Korea Turkey -.3 n.a. n.a. n.a..2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.9 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.7 3.2 3.1 3.3 4.2 4.5 6 5 4 3 2 Per 1 population 1-1 1 2 3 4 5 Average annual growth rate (%) 1. Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Portugal provide the number of all physicians entitled to practise rather than only those practising. 2. Data for Spain include dentists and stomatologists. 3
Per 1 population 25 Chart 3. Medical graduates per 1 population, 27 21.7 2 19.4 16.5 15 13.3 12.3 1 1 1 1.6 1.2 1.1 1. 1. 9.9 9.9 1 5 9. 8.7 8.1 7.7 7.7 6.9 6.9 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.2 6. 5.5 Number of graduates Chart 4. Absolute number of medical graduates, selected OECD countries, 199 to 27 12 Japan Italy France Switzerland 1 8 6 4 2 199 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 4
% 45 Chart 5. Trends in the share of foreign-trained doctors, selected OECD countries, 2 to 27 Ireland New Zealand United States Switzerland Sweden 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 2 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Source: OECD Health Data 29,June 29. 5
Chart 6. Contribution of the foreign-trained doctors to the net increase in the number of practising doctors, selected OECD countries, 2 to 27 % 1 92 88 84 8 73 68 6 55 48 4 33 2 16 8 Source: OECD Health Data 29,June 29. Chart 7. General practitioners and specialists in OECD countries, 27 Per 1 population GPs Specialists 3.4 2.9 2.3 2.6 2.3 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.8 1.8 1.3 1.7 1.1.9.9.9.8.8.8 1.2.8.8.6.6 1.1.6 1.1.4.3. n.a..2 Note: Some countries are unable to report all their practising doctors in these two categories of GPs and specialists. 6
Chart 8. Remuneration of general practitioners and specialists, ratio to GDP per capita Specialists General prac oners (GPs) Salaried Self-employed 5.1 Australia (26) 2.1 5.1 Austria (25) 7.4 Belgium (26) 1 2.4 4.7 Canada (26) Czech Republic (26) 2.3 Denmark (25) 3.2 Finland (27) 1.8 4.8 France (26) 4.5 Germany (26) 3.6 Hungary (27) 2 2.7 Iceland (27) 2.7 8.3 3.9 Ireland (27) 3.1 Mexico (27) 2 3.8 Netherlands (26) New Zealand (27) 2.9 3.4 Sweden (22) Switzerland (25) 3.2 5. United Kingdom 3 4.9 4.8 3.8 6.5 United States (21) 4.4 1 8 6 4 2 2 4 6 8 1 Ratio to GDP per capita Ratio to GDP per capita 1. Data include practice expenses, resulting in an over-estimation. 2. Data on salaried doctors relate only to public sector employees who tend to receive lower remuneration than those working in the private sector. 3. Remuneration of self-employed GP is for 26 and the income of salaried specialists is for 27. Salaried Self-employed 7
Average annual growth rate (%, in real terms) 7 6 Chart 9. Growth in remuneration of general practitioners and specialists, 1997 to 27 GPs Specialists 6. 5 4 3 2 1-1 -2-1.1 -.1 1.3.4.4 1.9 1.3.1 -.4 -.3 -.4 3.8 1. Data on remuneration for self-employed GPs are for 1997-26 and data for salaried specialists are for 1998-27. 8