Hospitals, doctors, med schools, health providers join to attack P.R.’s medical crisis
Considering the crisis that exists on the island due to the shortage of doctors and specialists, Salvador F. Rovira-Rodríguez decided to join all of the industry’s components in one place to establish a structure that, in a short term, allows Puerto Rico to alleviate the crisis.
To address that goal, he created the Health Industry Recruitment Event, which will take place Sept. 6-7 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center.
The free event will consist of three areas:
- A continuing education room for physicians and health service administrators where attendees can obtain up to eight free credits;
- An interview area for residents and medical students, who will have an opportunity to have direct interaction with the island’s different hospitals, so they can get a more accurate idea of the specific needs of each institution. The goal is for them to be able to establish a direct plan so when they finish their degrees, they have a place to practice.; and,
- A fair where attendees can get information about all the different services and articles that may be useful to them.
HIRE will offer the opportunity to specialists who are about to retire and who are not clear about the future of their practices, to approach students or resident doctors, who are interested in acquiring their practices.
“We have been closely studying the island’s medical crisis, which we know is more severe than currently thought,” Rovira-Rodríguez said.
“We took on the task of conducting a real census of doctors currently providing services on the island, of which there are some 9,000. But only some 6,500 are specialists. Of which, about 50% are 60 or older. And there are specialties, like orthopedics, that seriously lacks doctors,” he said.
