Medical College suspends doctor for two months over unpaid fine

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica has suspended the professional practice of Dr. Stephanie Aracelly Mena Morales, code MED9968, for two months for failing to pay the fine imposed by the Medical Ethics Tribunal. The measure is in effect from October 7 to December 7, 2026, both dates inclusive, and was published in La Gaceta No. 193 on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 (reference IN202601132150).

The disclosure is based on Article 22 of the Organic Law of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, amended by Law No. 9809 of February 4, 2020, which mandates the publication of any suspension of professional practice in the official gazette once the sanction becomes final. The notice is signed by Dr. Carolina Umaña Cisneros, acting president of the Governing Board, and is entered into the Registry of Offenders maintained by the corporation’s General Prosecutor’s Office.

The case was processed under file No. 259-2023TEM. Through a resolution at 10:30 AM on June 12, 2025, the Medical Ethics Tribunal (TEM) imposed a fine on the professional equivalent to two base salaries of a general assistant physician, which the notice figures as three million fifty thousand seven hundred fifty-six colones (403.050.756), with a payment deadline of three calendar months.

From Fine to Suspension

• Original sanction: fine of two base salaries of a general assistant physician.
• Published amount: three million fifty thousand seven hundred fifty-six colones (403.050.756).
• Original payment deadline: three calendar months.
• Substitution rule: one month of suspension for each base salary set as a fine.
• Extension granted: five months, agreed upon in the Governing Board session No. 2026-02-11, on February 11, 2026.
• Reason for suspension: the Financial Accounting Department did not record the payment by the established date.

Validity and Scope of the Sanction

The Governing Board, in ordinary session No. 2026-10-07 held on October 7, 2026, agreed to disclose the suspension notice through publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. The sanction is served from October 7 to December 7, 2026, both dates inclusive, and it was ordered to issue the standard official letters to the corresponding authorities to ensure compliance with the provisions.

Registry of Offenders

The professional is entered into the Registry of Offenders of the College’s General Prosecutor’s Office and is considered suspended from professional practice for two (02) months. The notice appears in the notices section of La Gaceta No. 193, corresponding to Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Publication in the official gazette gives the disciplinary sanction a public and enforceable character: during the two months of suspension, the doctor cannot practice medicine, which forces her patients to seek care from other professionals and warns employers and institutions that the professional is temporarily disqualified.

Source: La Gaceta No. 193, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Section I (Notices), page 114 (official reference: IN202601132150).