Does Panama have enough doctors for its medical tourism?
In short: Panama promotes itself as a medical tourism destination, with two hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International and an industry the government valued at 400 million dollars in 2020. The same country has 1.7 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants according to INEC, below the Latin American average of 2.6; Panama province has 23 doctors per 10,000 people and the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca 1.5. It trains between 100 and 120 specialists a year, in 2026 it offered 71 residency places for 475 applicants and three calls to bring in foreign specialists ended with one or two candidates. The question is not…