Having a specialist in geriatrics in all hospitals is the goal of the authorities of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS).
Ten years ago only the medical centers in San Jose had the specialty, and although there has been an advance, four institutions are still missing geriatricians.
The CCSS offers this service in all national, regional and peripheral hospitals. However, Maria Eugenia Villalta, medical manager, said that the recruitment of these specialists is pending in peripheral hospitals 1: Upala, Los Chiles, Tomás Casas de Ciudad Cortés and the one from Ciudad Neily.
In the latter, there are specialists in internal medicine who can assess the elderly population and also belong to a network of services available to other professionals, such as family and community medicine.
This year, the institution expanded the training quota so that instead of the 10 doctors who entered annually, this year they are 16.
In the five years of the specialty, students have to rotate for Internal Medicine services in the three national hospitals of San José and the last three years, the training process is executed in the National Hospital of Geriatrics and Gerontology. The selection of professionals who enter this postgraduate course is very rigorous, since they are subject to a written exam, an oral test and an interview where five geriatricians participate.