Question: Are Canadian doctor's earnings "capped' in any way?

[blueskyguy]

Hi all,

I am a second year medical student, and I have to admit, I don't know much about the financial aspect of being a doctor. I have interests in Family Medicine, and I am curious: Are Canadian doctor's earnings "capped" in any way? Are certain provinces "capped"? If so, what exactly does this mean? Are there some provinces that are better than other's in terms of "earning potential" or not really?

Sorry if this seems naive, but I was hoping someone could walk me through how this stuff works.

[BioF]

I know in BC that as a family doctor you have a cap for how many patients you can receive fee-for-service payments for in a day. I think its something like you can only apply for payments for 40 ish visits a day. However, in terms of total earnings there is not a cap. There are several payment models in Canada for family practice, but the most common is fee-for-service (ie. payment per visit). Unless you own your own clinic, it's common to have to pay between 30 to 40% of your earning to the clinic owner for overheads costs. As a family doctor billing is quite complicated for getting payments for patient visits. They are categorized based on the age and complexity of the visit, and you can apply for additional funding based on your patient demographics (eg. additional incentives for mental health patients, complex chronic conditions, etc). It really depends on your patient panel, their number of visits, their diseases, and the overhead you pay at the clinic.