RATIONAL MARKET RELATIONS IN THE MODERN RUSSIAN HEALTHCARE: PRACTITIONERS’ EXPERIENCE (PART II)

More active out-of-pocket payment for medical care by wealthy people would allow increasing healthcare funding for deprived groups of the Russian population. The country has objective prerequisites for creating elite medicine. On the other hand, there is a need to develop and approve by law the lists of medical services, provided for free as a part of regional programs of state-guaranteed healthcare, in accordance with regional medico-economic standards. Additionally, it is necessary to provide free access to these services for all citizens, especially the deprived ones

RATIONAL MARKET RELATIONS IN THE MODERN RUSSIAN HEALTHCARE: PRACTITIONERS’ EXPERIENCE (PART I)

The challenging process of Russian healthcare reforms includes development of the healthcare concept (up to 2020) by the Ministry of Health and Social Development. The reforms are planned by prominent health managers and economy scientists who are well-recognised theorists but rarely, if ever, visit medical clinics and hospitals. As these experts have contradictory views on the Russian healthcare concept, we propose that the opinion of practitioners, such as the authors of this article, who have been working at hospital and treating patients on daily basis for several decades, has its own professional value and potential to improve prevention and treatment quality. Should the Russian healthcare be free of charge, according to Article 41 of the Russian Federation Constitution, or should it be based on market health insurance, according to the Head of the High School of Economics, Mr E.G. Yasin? At the moment, this is the main point of debates on the Russian healthcare concept. The authors believe that for the patients’ sake, the Russian healthcare system should combine both approaches