[Evaluation of the need for specialists in oncology, Bogota, Colombia, 2015]

To evaluate the need of oncologists for cancer care in Bogotá.

The Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia (SISPRO) consultation report of malignant neoplasms is compared to a model of four treatment consultations and two of controls per year, according to the estimation of incidence and prevalence. Based on these data, the need for oncologists is calculated and compared with the registry that this ministry has of independent professionals (private practice in the office) and public and private health care institutions.

When comparing the consultations made with those estimated for the care, it Is found that the indispensable consultations are not met with notable exception in lymphomas and leukemias, with more consultations than expected, and in ovary cancers, thyroid, cancers in other body parts and unspecified. The productivity of professionals in relation to the number of independent professionals is low, with excess supply in surgical oncology specialties except for urology; and there is a deficit in hematology oncology, clinical oncology and radiotherapy. But in this last situation, when including other sources, it is not found that the number of these specialists is lower than required.

The oncological surgical specialties have an oversupply in Bogotá except for urology, while clinical oncology and radiotherapy, that have a number under the register of independent professionals, are supplemented by physicians from public and / or private health care institutions.