Abstract:

Background: The ageing between the Chilean population and the epidemiological transition that the country is going through has increased the need to train, among other specialists, geriatric doctors. Objective: To estimate the gap between geriatricians in Chile according to the epidemiological needs of the population aged 65 years and over. Method: An estimate of the gap in geriatrician hours was made for the health network based on a consultation of 57 active geriatricians out of 156 registered as of January 2021. In this consultation, the duration and frequency of ideal consultations were inquired according to the functional capacity of the elderly at the national level and by region obtained from the Casen 2017 survey. Results: as of February 2022, there are 162 geriatricians in Chile, equivalent to one geriatrician for every 15,806 people aged 65 years and over. According to the estimate, a total of 1,244,689 hours of annual geriatrician would be required in Chile, equivalent to 589 geriatricians nationwide. Conclusion: According to the study’s results, at the national level, a total of 589 geriatricians would be needed to cover the care needs of older people with some level of dependence. According to these figures, in the first quarter of 2022, the country would present a gap of 427 geriatricians. Given the highness of this gap, it is believed necessary to advance general training strategies in geriatrics and gerontology in health and socio-health teams.

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