KEY POINTS:
General practitioners are paid nearly $147,000 a year, according to a study in the primary care sector.
The Independent Practitioners Association Council study suggests GPs' gross incomes have risen significantly under the Government's six-year introduction of universal patient subsidies.
But GP salary surveys have produced wildly differing results.
A College of GPs survey last year found the average GP was paid $93,000 and worked 48 hours a week. Waikato University found the average for practice owners was around $140,000 following steady increases from 2002.
GPs who are owners tend to work longer hours than those on salary.
The latest study, released yesterday, of 201 GPs puts the average income at $146,965 for a fulltime equivalent (FTE).
"There were no significant differences in mean salary/fee per GP FTE between urban and rural practices, between practices of different size, or between practices with different patient age distributions."
Nearly 60 per cent of the GPs had an ownership stake in their practices, and these doctors worked longer hours. "GPs who own their practices spent nearly twice as much time working in the practice as employed GPs," the study said.
Council chairwoman Dr Bev O'Keefe said expenses such as superannuation, continuing education and, in the case of owners, annual leave costs, had not been deducted from the average income figure.
