The delegate of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Zacatecas, Leopoldo Santillán Arreygue, acknowledged that there is a shortage of doctors in Zacatecas in 12 medical specialties due to people resigning to seek better job opportunities in other states.
“There is a lack of specialist doctors in Zacatecas,” said the federal official, who also acknowledged that the state still suffers from unfair stigmatization.
Our medical specialists take longer to sign their contracts than to leave… and there is no way to convince them otherwise. Leopoldo Santillán Arreygue, IMSS delegate in Zacatecas
This year, the IMSS Zacatecas delegation issued a call for applications to hire specialist doctors in 17 medical specialties such as cardiology, internal medicine, gynecology, hematology, ophthalmology, endocrinology, angiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, general surgery, and nephrology.
Santillán Arreygue considered that specialist doctors prefer other states on the northern border, where they have “a more attractive field of work” and where “they are better paid.”
Impact on Patients
The IMSS Zacatecas representative assured that all 47 IMSS medical specialties have specialists, but more are needed to ensure that waiting times for medical care are not different.
He explained that when there is a shortage of specialists, the doctor assesses the patients’ condition and “prioritizes those at risk of death before seeing them.”
Furthermore, when needed, Zacatecas receives support from highly specialized hospitals in Saltillo, Monterrey, Torreón, Aguascalientes, León, and Guadalajara, where IMSS patients are referred.
On the other hand, he denied that there are serious problems with medication shortages at IMSS Zacatecas, as prescriptions are filled at 96.7 percent.
Source: oem
