Medical specialists in Mexico

Introduction: There are no recent data in Mexico about the state of medical specialists that allow the design of policies for training and use of human resources for health. Objective: To analyze the current state of medical specialists in Mexico: number, distribution (geographical, by gender and specialty), certification validity (by gender and specialty) and the rate of specialists per 100 000 population. Method: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Multiple sources available in Mexico were consulted: councils, associations, schools, hospital institutions, universities, and others. Results: A total of 147,910 specialists were counted for a total population of 123,518,272 inhabitants, 69 % had current specialty certification. A rate of 119 specialists per 100 000 population was obtained; 54.2 % are in Mexico City and in the States of Mexico, Jalisco and Nuevo Leon. On average, there are 1.7 male specialists per female specialist. Conclusions: The number of specialists is lower than that internationally recommended and insufficient to cover the health needs of the country. Gender distribution is shifting towards a more equitable one. Specialists are mainly grouped in urban areas. This is the first census of specialists based on total verifiable number of physicians, which will allow the design of policies for human resources planning in health.