[Regional differences in health care remuneration in Spain: the Canary Islands as reference (2024)]

To compare gross annual remuneration across ten professional categories in the Spanish National Health System in 2024, using the Canary Islands Health Service (CHS) as a reference, in both nominal terms and adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).

We conducted a cross-sectional comparative study based on official data on healthcare remuneration across regional health services. Ten professional categories were analysed. For the two medical categories (primary care and hospital), we developed a simulation tool (available as supplementary material) to estimate total annual remuneration for homogeneous professional profiles, considering seniority, career progression, exclusivity, and on-call duties. Comparisons were performed using rankings and ratios of CHS remuneration relative to the average of other regions. Remuneration was also adjusted using regional PPP estimates.

In nominal terms, health care remuneration in the Canary Islands is close to the national average, with substantial heterogeneity across profiles. The relative position of the Canary Islands is more favourable for younger physicians without exclusivity arrangements than for those with exclusive dedication and greater profesional experience. In other professional categories, remuneration is generally above the national average, except for primary care nurses. PPP adjustment increases the relative position of the Canary Islands without altering the observed patterns.

Health care remuneration in the Canary Islands is close to the national average in nominal terms and higher when adjusted for price levels. The heterogeneity across medical profiles highlights the importance of interpreting comparisons at a disaggregated level.