NewsWhore
04-21-2008, 02:40 PM
The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) held its fourth strike in as many months and has promised that it will strike once again next Friday. The strike affects the poor that use public hospital services. The striking physicians only attended emergency cases.
CMD president Waldo Ariel Suero called the strike was a success.
The doctors have been continually fighting for better benefits as well as the increase of monthly wages to RD$58,000 per month. Currently doctor salaries range between RD$14,000 per month and RD$26,400 per month depending on the experience of the doctor.
But the government's position is that wages need to correspond with productivity. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez said he will not pay a doctor who carries out one surgery a month in the public health service the same as one who performs 60. Many doctors only work sporadically in public hospitals, while dedicating most of their time to private practice. Rojas says if physicians are paid taking into consideration the patients they see or operate, this would result in some doctors making around RD$100,000+ a month.
Listin Diario reports that if the government were to cede to the CMD's requests that would mean a payout of RD$6 billion per year.
According to Fulgencio Severino, cardiologist and public health expert, doctors in the DR should not be a paid a set salary, instead a "commission" based salary based on productivity. He said it would be a mistake for the government to do otherwise.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
CMD president Waldo Ariel Suero called the strike was a success.
The doctors have been continually fighting for better benefits as well as the increase of monthly wages to RD$58,000 per month. Currently doctor salaries range between RD$14,000 per month and RD$26,400 per month depending on the experience of the doctor.
But the government's position is that wages need to correspond with productivity. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez said he will not pay a doctor who carries out one surgery a month in the public health service the same as one who performs 60. Many doctors only work sporadically in public hospitals, while dedicating most of their time to private practice. Rojas says if physicians are paid taking into consideration the patients they see or operate, this would result in some doctors making around RD$100,000+ a month.
Listin Diario reports that if the government were to cede to the CMD's requests that would mean a payout of RD$6 billion per year.
According to Fulgencio Severino, cardiologist and public health expert, doctors in the DR should not be a paid a set salary, instead a "commission" based salary based on productivity. He said it would be a mistake for the government to do otherwise.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)