10 years after the anesthetic-surgical health emergency in Uruguay

Comparison of the results of the current offer with that projected in 2011

Abstract

Introduction: during 2011 a simulation method was proposed to assess the needs and trends over time of anesthesiologists and establish possible scenarios.
Objective. compare the current situation with the projections formulated in 2011 by the simulation method to evaluate anesthesiologists’ supply and demand.
Material and methods: an update of the available databases was revised. The number and demographic distribution of the anesthesiologist workforce were recorded and compared with the proposed scenarios.
Results: the number of physicians with anesthesiology skills was 14.2/100.000, and wholly trained anesthesiologists were 12/100.000. The age distribution presented a median of 54 years, the central 90% were between 36 and 75 years old. 57% of the anesthesiologist are females. 21.8 workforce in anesthesiology/100.000 corresponds to Montevideo and the metropolitan area, against 7/100.000 in the rest of the country. There was an average increase of 50% in the number of positions for training, an increase in revalidation applications, and a rise of 17.5% in a surgical procedure in the public subsector.
Conclusions: the prediction of the number of anesthesiologists and their characteristics for 2020 coincided with two of the proposed scenarios. We verify a growth in female participation, a higher percentage in younger age groups, centralization of human resources in Montevideo and higher retirement age. The main limitation was access to reliable information.