14 000$ per month to manage an operating room

Quebec City (Quebec) 9 January 2016 – While the income of medical specialists is in the spotlight, a CHUM surgeon has seen his salary double, to $ 14,000 a month to manage the administration of the operating room.

Over the next 22 months, Dr. Patrick Harris will receive $ 312,000 for its “medico-administrative services” as Chief of Surgery and co-manager of the operating room.

Dr Patrick Harris

Monthly, Dr. Harris therefore receives $ 14 181, an amount which is added to the surgeon’s income. In 2016 alone, he will receive $ 170,000.

This is a dramatic increase from Dr. Harris’s income in 2015, which was, at the time, $ 73,530 to perform these tasks (January to November).

“As it is lump sum, it may be that there are variations from one contract to another,” wrote the direction of the Hospital of the University of Montreal (CHUM).

Yesterday, the CHUM was not able to confirm how many hours per week Dr. Harris dedicates to management.

“Dr. Harris is available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day to provide clinical administrative responses and to be present at all meetings requiring his presence”, responded by email the direction of CHUM.

They add that the doctor is at the head of one of the most important departments and oversees 165 doctors. In the publication of the contract, the CHUM writes that these administrative tasks (list of guards, coordinate and manage resources, etc.) are not paid for by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec.

Cheaper elsewhere

In comparison, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) pay $ 102,000 per year to four coordinators for the management of five operating theaters. At the McGill University Health Centre, management salaries ranging from 10,000 and $ 100,000 are also available to doctors.

No clear picture

The Ministry of Health said that hospitals are responsible for contracts and are working to get a clear picture of the network.

This is not the first time that Dr. Harris has been at the center of controversy. Last year, the former Director General of the CHUM, Jacques Turgeon, had resigned after denouncing the “interference” of the Minister of Health, that would have required the appointment of Dr. Harris as head of the surgery department.

Dr. Harris has not recalled the Journal.

In 2014-2015, the CHUM has paid $ 1.9 million in salaries to 70 doctors to offset their administrative tasks.