To analyze the current level and dynamic change of the salary and income satisfaction rate of doctors in Chinese tertiary public hospitals in recent years.

In January 2018, March 2019 and March 2021, the project team of " the third party evaluation of the China Healthcare Improvement Initiative" conducted a questionnaire survey among doctors of 136 tertiary public hospitals in 31 provinces. The first-line clinicians were investigated by stratified sampling method. The salary level and satisfaction of doctors were investigated by questionnaire. Chi square test was used for comparison between groups.

The sample size of the three surveys was 20 786, 23 289 and 22 836 respectively. The median value of doctors′ actual income after tax in 2017, 2018 and 2020 was 100 800 yuan, 120 000 yuan, 150 000 yuan respectively, and the median expected annual income after tax was 196 000 yuan, 250 000 yuan and 250 000 yuan. The proportion of doctors satisfied with the current income was 16.5%, 17.8% and 26.9% respectively. The salary and satisfaction rate of doctors had an upward trend, but the overall level was still low.

In recent years, the salary of doctors in tertiary public hospitals in China has been improved to a certain extent, but on the whole, it is at a low level, and there is still much room for improvement. In the future, the government needs to improve the hospital salary system and increase the salary of doctors continuously, especially needs to pay attention to the doctors with high education level and intermediate titles.

Clinician; Salary; Satisfaction rate; Current situation analysis; Questionnaires