Physician Shortage in Panama: CSS Hires Foreign Specialists

Recently, the director of the Social Security Fund (CSS), Dino Mon, acknowledged that physician participation in the five calls held to date has been low, forcing them to turn to the international market to adequately meet the population's needs. Mon lamented that sanctions for those who fail to fulfill their medical commitment in the interior and move to the capital city are not stringent enough, so he does not rule out presenting modifications to the current decrees to correct this situation. He pointed out that the deficit of specialists in the public health system must be covered as soon as possible to ensure patient care; therefore, he agrees that, temporarily, the CSS recruit foreign personnel until Panamanians can fill those positions. He mentioned that the lack of specialists is not an exclusive problem of the CSS, but also of the Ministry of Health (Minsa), because when diagnosing both entities, it can be seen that the number of professionals is scarce; however, work is being done to find a provisional solution. «Today, a doctor who does not want to come to a province to which they are committed has the option to pay all fees at very low interest rates; undoubtedly, the pertinent modifications must be made, but we must also sit down to dialogue, this is not done overnight, the issue must be discussed at a table before making profound changes», he assured. «It is of no use to us to have the job positions if we do not have the people to work in them and they are not going to appear from one day to the next; I know that there are certain protected professions in Panama, but if Panamanians need a specialist, we have to see how we can be creative, even if temporarily, so that these positions are filled in some way or another», he said. The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP), Juan Arias Strunz, maintains that the local workforce will not be affected by this decision; on the contrary, they will reinforce their knowledge through the exchange of experiences. The measure, in his judgment, must be executed for a specific period of time and under educational conditions so that it is not limited to merely occupying the available spaces, but to training local doctors, avoiding its extension. The possible hiring of foreign specialists by the Social Security Fund (CSS) to meet the demand, especially in the interior of the country, has the support of business leaders. Additionally, he suggested to the authorities to encourage the permanence of physicians in provincial areas through bonuses. In this regard, the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc, indicated that a mechanism must be found for these «fines» to be settled immediately and not in installments as is currently allowed.