National Competition Specialties: Main incentive for primary care physicians in Chile (2007-2011)

Abstract

The National Scholarship Competition Specialties for Primary Care’s main objective is to encourage the inclusion of general practitioners and specialists to Primary Care Public Health System in Chile, to improve access and resoluteness in addressing the 13 million people who are registered in the offices of our country. It also constitutes the main claim in the agreement obtained between the Ministry of Health and the Medical College of Chile in 2007, which established a minimum of 100 seats. The implementation of this competition has increased the interest of general practitioners to work in public clinics in our country, increasing the hours medical PHC. However, there remains a significant deficit of hours medical care at this level, which is a clarion call to promote this important incentive. In the last two years this program has graduated 74 physicians who should be developing their expertise in the network of public health system with a period of 6 years compulsory care. In addition, there are 204 PHC doctors are currently in specialty training. It is very important that this specialization program counts with a significant number of places, considering the specialties that are required in the public health system of our country and the APS. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of the implementation of incentives within the medical career, in this case the development of specialization within the continuing professional development of physicians APS, which provides benefits for themselves professionals to the health system as a whole.