The specialty-specific boards
- Orthopedic surgery — Sociedad Colombiana de Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología (SCCOT)
- Cardiac surgery — Sociedad Colombiana de Cirugía Cardiovascular
- General surgery — Asociación Colombiana de Cirugía
Each functions similarly to SCCP within its specialty: a professional board requiring specific post-medical-school training years and ongoing standards, distinct from simply holding a medical license.
Why this matters for procedures like knee replacement or cardiac surgery
A surgeon performing joint replacement or cardiac surgery should be verifiable through their specialty's specific board, not assumed to be credentialed just because they operate at a JCI-accredited facility. Facility accreditation and individual surgeon board certification are two separate things — verify both.
How to actually check
ReTHUS, Colombia's national healthcare professional registry, is the starting point for verifying any physician's basic licensing status regardless of specialty — ask your clinic directly which specialty board your specific surgeon holds membership in, and verify it independently. This matters whether you're pursuing a procedure through colombiamedical.co or any specific spoke in the network.
The Takeaway
Don't assume SCCP-equivalent rigor applies automatically outside cosmetic surgery — ask which specific board certifies your surgeon's specialty, and verify it the same way you would SCCP.