Shoulder surgery in Chile: how far we have come and our future challenges
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Inc.
Abstract
Shoulder surgery in Chile has seen a remarkable development in the last 2 decades. From a handful of overseas-trained pioneers, Chilean shoulder surgeons now have a growing and robust society with more than 150 members with 8 fellowship programs and around 10 new fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons graduating every year. Academic activity has been steadily improving in both quality and quantity, aspiring to reach the standards of Europe and North America. State-of-the-art clinical practice is the standard in larger cities with considerable access issues in more remote areas of the country. In the broader picture, the country has a mixed public-private insurance system with a health budget that accounts for 9% of the gross domestic product (GDP).27 Although private insurance is accessible to only approximately 18% of the population, the elevated out-of-pocket cost of health care is a growing issue, especially for elective surgery. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the development of shoulder surgery in Chile. We will discuss our health care system, surgical rates, and waiting lists issues and address the challenges along with opportunities for future developments. By discussing our strengths, limitations, opportunities, and threats, we aim to provide the reader with useful insights into global health care issues around shoulder surgery and exemplify potential solutions and barriers.
Description
Keywords
Shoulder surgery, Public health policy, Waiting lists, Bundling, Surgical rates, Health spending, Health care system