Most of the municipal and provincial hospitals that make up the Second Level of Medical Care of the Public Network lack doctors specialized in oncology, cardiology, and endocrinology, three health conditions with a high presence and demand for care in the Dominican population.

According to an investigation released yesterday by the Alliance for the Right to Health (ADESA), 66% of municipal and provincial hospitals do not have cardiologists on their payrolls; 82% do not have endocrinologists, and the response in oncology is worse since only four of the 50 centers studied have professionals in this specialty.

The data is contained in the research “Situation and Challenges II Level of Health Care in the Dominican Republic,” an exploratory study on general, municipal and provincial hospitals presented yesterday by ADESA in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Dominican Medical College (CMD).

In addition to the lack of specialists, the investigation reveals a lack of equipment, low state investment, limited access to medicines, a shortage of health personnel, and political interference.

According to the findings, in the 50 hospitals studied, there are only 36 cardiologists, almost all concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago.

Need for specialties
Precariousness.
In those 50 hospitals, only four have oncologists doctors specialized in cancer care, and only 15 centers have endocrinologists who work with diabetics and obese patients.