All posts by Anfisa

Registration is open for the All-Russian Forum “Health Resort-2026” (Pskov)

Dear colleagues!

We are pleased to announce the opening of registration for the key event of the year in the field of sanatorium-and-spa treatment and medical rehabilitation — the All-Russian Forum “Zdravnitsa-2026”. This year, the event will take place in the city of Pskov.

Traditionally, the Forum will become the main venue for professional dialogue, bringing together scientific experts, practicing physicians, heads of health resorts, and business representatives to exchange advanced experience and discuss industry development strategies.

Scale of the event:

More than 7,000 participants are expected.
The exhibition area will cover more than 3,500 sq. m.
Work will be carried out simultaneously on 10 business platforms.
The forum program: Special attention will be given to the exhibition, where leading manufacturers will present modern medical equipment, solutions for outfitting sanatoriums, products for therapeutic and functional nutrition, mineral waters, and dietary supplements. Sanatorium-and-spa organizations will present their treatment programs and partnership opportunities.

We would like to remind you that this year the Congress on Physiotherapy will also take place as part of the “Zdravnitsa” forum.

We invite heads of medical institutions, physiotherapists, rehabilitation specialists, balneologists, and all interested professionals to participate!

Registration and detailed information are available on the official forum website.

The IX Congress “Physiotherapy. Therapeutic Exercise. Rehabilitation. Sports Medicine” will be held within the framework of the All-Russian Forum “Zdravnitsa-2026.”

Dear colleagues!

We would like to inform you that this year the 9th Congress “Physiotherapy. Therapeutic Exercise. Rehabilitation. Sports Medicine” will be held as part of the All-Russian Forum “Zdravnitsa-2026”.

This key industry event will bring together leading specialists in medical rehabilitation, balneology, and restorative medicine.

Dates: May 25–30, 2026.
Venue: Pskov (SRC “Prostoria”).

The scientific program of the Congress will include discussion of current issues in modern physiotherapy, new treatment and rehabilitation methods, as well as an exhibition of the latest equipment.

We invite you to take an active part in the Congress! Detailed information and registration are available on the official website of the “Zdravnitsa” forum.

 

All-Russian Forum “Health Resort-2025”

June 9–11, Moscow, Skolkovo Technopark

Dear colleagues!

On June 9–11, 2025, the main forum of the health resort industry — the All-Russian Forum “Zdravnitsa-2025” — will take place. For 25 years, the forum has been held annually with the aim of developing the health resort complex of the Russian Federation, expanding its capabilities in health preservation and national security, restoring health, and fostering a culture of health management.

The forum fulfills the vital mission of bringing together the professional community, finding effective forms of interagency cooperation, exchanging scientific and practical achievements, and promoting the need for health improvement, rehabilitation, and treatment of Russian citizens.

We invite you to take part in the Scientific Congress and Exhibition of the All-Russian Forum “Zdravnitsa-2025”.

Application for participation


More about the forum on our website: https://rumed.ru/

Get the latest forum news promptly in the Telegram channel: https://t.me/rumed_ru

Experts discussed the formation of schoolchildren’s health habits

A roundtable discussion, “The Formation of Health Habits in Schoolchildren — a New Driver of Health Industry Development in Russia,” was held at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Experts in various aspects of health management (nutrition, physical activity, stress management, etc.) shared the best technologies and practices that need to be integrated into the new health infrastructure for students, first and foremost in the family, school, and university.

The event was organized by the Commission on Education and Upbringing of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation together with the All-Russian Public Organization “National Parent Association for Social Support of the Family and Protection of Family Values” and the Union of Organizations and Specialists in the Field of Health Management “Health of the Healthy,” with the support of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National Resort Association, the Foundation for the Support of Social Projects, and the project office of the “Preventive Medicine” direction of HealthNet of the National Technology Initiative.

The roundtable discussed a new health-centric model for managing students’ health in the context of modern risks, in relation to the implementation of national projects and the first steps toward cooperation among various stakeholders (parents, educational organizations, government agencies in the social sphere) in fulfillment of the President of the Russian Federation’s 2024 address to the Federal Assembly.

The roundtable was opened by Larisa Sanatovskaya, Executive Director of the National Parent Association, together with Sergey Chudakov, General Director of the Union “Health of the Healthy.” They noted that the health of schoolchildren and families as a whole is a key issue of state policy and a matter of concern for civil society. It is very important at the next stage of its development to establish real mechanisms for preserving the health of family members that will be understandable and accessible to all Russians.

In her welcoming speech, Natalia Kremnyova, Director of the Foundation for the Support of Social Projects, emphasized that the issue of schoolchildren’s health is one of the most acute at the intersection of medicine, education, and social relations, and noted the key role of social entrepreneurs in solving these tasks by creating affordable solutions for all children, including those with developmental differences. The Foundation actively supports initiatives in this area because fostering healthy habits in schoolchildren is the foundation of future society.

Sergey Chudakov, General Director of the Union “Health of the Healthy” and co-head of the “Preventive Medicine” direction of the National Technology Initiative, highlighted the role of the national “Health of the Healthy” Ecosystem in preserving family health. The federal project “Health of the Healthy” is aimed at effective prevention and early diagnosis of various diseases through the creation of a digital ecosystem designed to simplify interaction between regional residents and specialists in healthcare, sports, and the market of health-preserving services.

It was described how modern scientific knowledge and digital technologies make it possible to give new substance to the strategy proposed by Alexander Razumov, President of the National Resort Association and Academician, back in the early 2000s. The Union’s efforts are aimed at creating a national “human-centered” ecosystem for health preservation at the regional level across the country. Both each individual, organized collectives, and the state will receive tangible benefits from it.

Chief physician of the DiLUCH sanatorium and resort complex Ekaterina Belus, in a co-report with Vera Sevryukova, General Director of the complex (Anapa) and member of the Board of the National Resort Association, focused on the enduring value of the impact of Russia’s sanatoriums and resorts for health improvement and family recreation, emphasizing the need to support, at the state level, the systematic referral of healthy children with their parents to sanatorium treatment. She pointed to the need to use domestic health resorts in a comprehensive state strategy to improve the health of children and families. The sanatoriums of Anapa have accumulated unparalleled experience in this matter.

Participants in the roundtable also drew attention to the interdisciplinary and interagency nature of the problem of schoolchildren’s health. Among the main factors shaping children’s health, they named a favorable social environment, abstaining from harmful habits, physical activity, mental health, and more. They spoke about the dangers of internet addiction and pointed to the need to develop a national model of information security for minors, including education not only for children but also for parents, teachers, and doctors. They also advocated increasing the number of physical education classes in school.

The experts concluded that, first and foremost, parents’ attitudes and lifestyle affect schoolchildren’s health, so it is they who should create conditions and motivate children to engage in physical education and sports, teach their children the basics of proper nutrition, manage emotions, avoid stress, etc.

The round table was also attended by the deputy director of the Social Projects Support Fund Nikita Novosadov, the head of the competence center “School of Organizers of Communities and Projects of the Movement “Healthy Health”,” member of the Coordinating Council of the National Parents Association Irina Galanova, first deputy general director of the Union “Healthy Health” Alexey Dubasov, head of the competence center “Health-Forming Pedagogy” of the Union “Healthy Health,” M.D., Ph.D. Mikhail Lazarev, marketing director of NL International, the strategic partner of the competence center “Personalized Nutrition” of the Union “Healthy Health” Olga Milovanova, federal coordinator of the competence center “Biomechanics of Health” of the Union “Healthy Health” Dmitry Kholodnyak, President of the Association of Myofunctional Therapy and Health-Preserving Technologies Mikhail Zinger, president of the Imperium Group of Companies, the strategic partner of the competence center “Light and Health” Igor Minin, head of the Occupational Hygiene Department, advisor to the director of the Research Institute of Transport Hygiene of Rospotrebnadzor Valery Kaptsov, director of the Irina Viner International Academy of Sports Olga Tsygankova, and others.

The initiative to launch the federal project “Schoolchild Health” and create a competence center of the same name within the Union “Healthy Health” for the long-term cooperation of various entities involved in managing student health was supported by the Commission on Education and Upbringing of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and all participants of the round table.

Discussion of the “Schoolchild Health” project and the creation of the Competence Center will continue at the annual all-Russian congress of the National Parents Association in February.

Media coverage of the round table:

https://www.oprf.ru/news/zdorove-shkolnika-tsifrovaya-platforma-pomogayushchiy-spetsialist-i-obraz-zhizni-roditeley

https://www.academyviner.ru/tpost/1fne2mzth1-kruglii-stol-formirovanie-privichek-zdor

https://dzen.ru/b/Z6CsRCDYahWnFoiY

https://healthcare-brics.com/formirovanie-privychek-zdorovya-shkolnikov-novyj-drajver-razvitiya-industrii-zdorovya-v-rossii-itogi-kruglogo-stola-v-op-rf/

https://obrazovanie.press/news/tpost/8mkd54jx31-v-obschestvennoi-palate-o-zdorove-osanke

https://www.informio.ru/news/id44278/Zdorove-shkolnika-cifrovaja-platforma-pomogayushii-specialist-i-obraz-zhizni-roditelei

On December 18, 2024, the Conference of the Union “National Medical Chamber” was held under the chairmanship of NMP President Leonid Mikhailovich Roshal

On December 18, 2024, the Conference of the Union “National Medical Chamber” was held under the chairmanship of the NMC President Leonid Mikhailovich Roshal.

The President of the All-Russian Public Organization “Russian Society of Physicians of Restorative Medicine, Medical Rehabilitation, Balneologists and Physiotherapists,” President of the National Spa Association, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Nikolaevich Razumov, delivered a report on the activities of the All-Russian Public Organization “Russian Society of Physicians of Restorative Medicine, Medical Rehabilitation, Balneologists and Physiotherapists” for 2024.

The conference participants, members of the NMC, unanimously approved the work done in 2024 and, in general, the active activities of the Society and the National Spa Association.

The National Medical Chamber will provide all possible support in resolving the existing problems of Russia’s health resort industry:

PROTECTION IS NEEDED FOR THE HEALTH RESORT INDUSTRY

  • Ensure equal competitive conditions for health resort organizations by establishing a special taxation procedure similar to that for other medical organizations;
  • Exclude from clause 1 of Article 284.1 of Federal Law No. 395 of 12/28/2010 “On Amendments to Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” the wording “At the same time, activities related to health resort treatment are not classified as medical activities”;
  • Restore crediting of medical service length of service for doctors and nursing staff of health resort organizations, as it was before November 1, 1999;
  • Introduce the course “Balneology” into higher education programs for the training of doctors of all specialties;
  • Expand continuing education cycles for doctors and nursing staff in the health resort industry;
  • Make a number of significant changes to the new draft Procedure for Health Resort Treatment.

INFORMATION DIGEST for December 9–15, 2024

MINISTRY OF HEALTH/CHI

The Ministry of Health submitted a draft amendment on the application of clinical guidelines to the State Duma

The Ministry of Health forwarded to the State Duma a package of amendments to the legislation on the legal status of clinical guidelines. The key point is that national guidelines cannot be used to control the quality and safety of medical care activities or in quality-of-care assessments.

On December 9, Deputy Minister of Health Evgeny Kamkin sent to the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection Sergey Leonov a draft order of the Russian Ministry of Health approving the procedure for applying clinical guidelines (a copy is in the possession of MV). Its authenticity was confirmed by the committee’s press service.

The document was developed by the ministry in connection with the preparation of draft federal law No. 646601-8 “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” for consideration in the second reading. The letter says that “clinical guidelines are based on an analysis of scientific data available at the time of their preparation, are practice-oriented, and serve as a guide for the physician when providing medical care in specific situations.” At the same time, all medical organizations, regardless of ownership form or departmental affiliation, are required to follow them.

As was reported earlier, if it is impossible to perform a medical intervention provided for in the clinical guidelines (lack of a license for medical activity, for the works (services) indicated for the patient, medical devices, medicines, other consumables, other material stocks required to carry out the indicated medical intervention, or specialists with the required qualifications), the medical organization must redirect the patient within the referral system to another clinic participating in the territorial state-guarantee program that has such capability, or arrange for medical care using telemedicine technologies.

The prescription and use of medicines, medical devices, and specialized medical nutrition products not provided for by the relevant clinical guideline (CG) are permitted in the presence of medical indications (individual intolerance, on vital indications) by decision of the medical commission.

The most controversial point: CGs cannot be applied for federal state control (supervision) of the quality and safety of medical activity; they are not mandatory requirements and cannot be used in the examination of the quality of medical care (EQMC). In the opinion of Aleksey Starchenko, a member of the Public Council for the Protection of Patients’ Rights under Roszdravnadzor and president of the NP “National Agency for Patient Safety and Independent Medical Expertise,” professor, the draft in this form infringes patients’ constitutional rights to compensation for harm in civil proceedings.

“In the past three years, in similar cases, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has often accepted EQMC conclusions issued by insurance company experts as the main evidence of a medical organization’s guilt. The ban on referring to clinical guidelines means that patients are being deprived of the right to evidence so that there will be fewer lawsuits. What result will we get — an increase in the number of criminal cases against doctors, because patients deprived of tools of defense in civil proceedings will more often turn to the Investigative Committee,” he told MV.

According to sources at MV in the профиль committee, other members of the medical community also disagree with the Health Ministry’s position not to apply CGs in EQMC. The State Duma is waiting for the government’s version of amendments to the legislation regarding clinical guidelines.

The regulator does not plan to postpone the date of the full transition to providing medical care based on CGs to 2026, Kamkin said this week. According to him, the CHI system budget in 2025 will make it possible to fully implement the provisions of the clinical guidelines.

Last week, a message appeared on the United Russia website stating that following the meeting a decision was made to introduce the necessary changes to the law “On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens” to clarify the place and role of clinical guidelines in the system of organizing and providing medical care and to form a unified system of medical care quality. The party commission, together with deputies, was to study the amendments developed by the Health Ministry, which are to be introduced into the legislation already this year. If that does not happen, it was proposed to postpone the introduction of the norm on the mandatory application of CGs for another year — until January 1, 2026.

An up-to-date selection of opinions from insurers, chief physicians, and representatives of the patient community on clinical guidelines can be read here.

https://medvestnik.ru/content/news/Minzdrav-napravil-proekt-popravok-o-primenenii-klinicheskih-rekomendacii-v-Gosdumu.html

 

Murashko urged not to expect a return to the budgetary model with the launch of the payroll pilot

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko outlined priorities as part of the trial of the new sector-wide wage system. There are no plans to return to the budget-based financing model for medical organizations.

The introduction of a new remuneration model in healthcare does not imply restarting the budget financing model for medical organizations, since such an approach is not results-oriented, said Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko at the Plenum of the Healthcare Workers’ Union on December 12.

Increasing compensation for labor is impossible without taking into account labor productivity, efficiency, and the quality of medical care, the minister said. He noted that many regions are already following exactly this path — improving the use of human resources while increasing wages.

“By order of the president, we must move to a new remuneration model. It is important for us to build an efficient, fair and, most importantly, results-oriented system — patient health and accessibility of medical care. Such a system cannot exist without linkage to efficiency. On one of my recent trips to the CIS countries, I saw how a budget system can be demotivating. Medical staff simply have no desire to introduce something effective and modern,” Murashko emphasized.

At the same time, it is important that collective agreements are not set up around any populist decisions. First of all, they should be based on an understanding of the efficiency of each medical organization. “We have a budget, we must clearly understand our financial capabilities,” the minister warned.

President Vladimir Putin in April confirmed plans to launch a pilot project to introduce a new remuneration system in healthcare in 2025. It was to be tested in several regions, but so far neither the list of participants nor the project parameters are publicly available. As the Ministry of Labor press service told “MV” in early December, they do not have such data. During discussion of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund budget, lawmakers noted that the expenses for implementing the pilot were not included.

The project to introduce a new remuneration system in healthcare is designed to reduce the significant gap in incomes and ensure adequate salaries for medical workers. It was originally planned to start in November 2021, but the ministries preparing the methodological justification — the Health Ministry and the Labor Ministry — postponed it twice, and then postponed it altogether until 2025. Since February 1, 2023, incomes of medical workers that were partially eroded by inflation have been compensated through special social payments (SSP).

Only a small share of doctors (9.6%) assess the chances of implementing the new sectoral remuneration system as high and expect a rapid increase in salaries, a “MV” survey showed. Many respondents were more pessimistic.

https://medvestnik.ru/content/news/Murashko-prizval-ne-jdat-vozvrata-k-budjetnoi-modeli-pri-vnedrenii-pilota-po-zarplatam.html

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Staff reserves: by how much do they plan to raise doctors’ salaries

Can saved funds become a resource for increasing medical workers’ incomes

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko spoke at the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Russian Healthcare Workers’ Union. The event discussed the sectoral budget for 2025, as well as how to increase doctors’ salaries through proper work organization and savings. The issue becomes even more relevant because next year marks the planned launch of a pilot project to create a unified remuneration system for public-sector employees, including medical workers, which is supposed to operate nationwide starting in 2027. However, the list of clear project parameters and the regions that will take part in the testing has not yet appeared, and they were not announced during the plenum either. More on what medical workers can expect financially next year is in the Izvestia report.

How the healthcare budget is growing

In his speech, Mikhail Murashko said that since 2019 the budget of the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund has increased by more than 2.2 times; investments in medical infrastructure within the national and federal projects also amounted to more than 1 trillion rubles.

Next year, the healthcare budget will increase across all three sources — compulsory medical insurance funds, the federal budget, and regional budgets — by a total of 13%, Guzel Ulumbekova, head of the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management, M.D., told Izvestia.

— That is an additional 865 billion rubles compared with 2024, she noted. — If we subtract inflation, for which the budget includes a forecast at the level of 4.5%, the increase will be 8%.

According to her, the additional money will go in part toward indexing the pay of medical workers by 13%, so that salaries meet the requirements of the president’s May decrees.

— The good news is that the budget is not being cut, but on the other hand, no funds have yet been allocated for the new remuneration system, which is supposed to launch nationwide in 2027, the expert emphasized.

When will the pilot project begin

At the plenary session, Mikhail Murashko reminded that the pilot project is due to start in 2025, and the full transition to the new wage system is set for 2027. According to the minister, this transition will be “discussed separately” with the participation of the trade union. When asked by an Izvestia correspondent when and in which regions the project would begin, the minister did not provide any additional information.

Marina Maslova, Director of the Department of Wages, Labor Relations and Social Partnership at the Russian Ministry of Labor, said in her speech at the plenary session that the work on developing new wage systems both in healthcare and in other sectors of the social sphere is “complex both in modeling and in subsequent implementation.”

As a reminder, the launch of the pilot project has been under discussion since 2021, but it has already been postponed several times for various reasons. Andrey Konoval, co-chair of the Deystviye trade union, told Izvestia that the project may not be launched until the fourth quarter of 2025.

The trade union of healthcare workers of the Russian Federation has a more optimistic view of the situation. Trade union chairman Anatoly Domnikov noted that the skeptics who doubted the project would be launched turned out to be wrong.

— Right now, at the federal level, there is discussion of how the concept that was previously approved but not implemented for a number of objective reasons will serve as the basis for developing a new version. And we, of course, will once again be taking the most active part in this process, — he said in his speech at the plenary session.

At the same time, the presidential directive to raise the share of base salary in medics’ pay to 50% in 2024 has by no means been fulfilled everywhere, the trade union notes, citing operational data.

— We conducted an anonymous blitz survey online on social media: out of 6.6 thousand respondents, almost a third noted a decrease in their wages as a result of changes in the mechanism for forming them, — Anatoly Domnikov said at the plenary session. — Even taking into account that these are unverified responses, it is important to emphasize that employees perceive the situation exactly this way. Therefore, it is necessary to explain the meaning of this work in detail and analyze it while interacting with managers at all levels.

What the Ministry of Health proposes

In his speech, Mikhail Murashko focused, in essence, on process management in healthcare: high-quality organization of activities at all stages will make it possible to save money, including for the salaries of medical staff, the minister emphasized.

He sees one reserve in the use of technologies in diagnostic and treatment centers.

— We are talking specifically about organizational principles. When medical care becomes highly efficient, high-throughput centers appear in the regions with no equipment downtime, where gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and other examinations are performed in a flow format, — the minister said. — If a digital framework is implemented in parallel, then the time of the doctor and nurse is used as efficiently as possible.

According to him, “lean technologies,” which minimize staff time costs, ultimately also affect the payroll fund.

The next aspect the official pointed to is minimizing the prices of medical products through the use of domestically produced medicines and devices.

— We have come to the point where 70% of the medicines on the list of vital medicines are domestic. This has already generated enormous savings in financial resources, — the minister said. — Efficiency is largely formed at the level of figures within 20%. Therefore, for us, the development of production and science is an economic component that affects, among other things, our wages, since we effectively use the resources of the procurement system. All of this ultimately is our wages.

The minister of health believes that treatment in accordance with clinical guidelines and centralized procurement of the medicines prescribed there will make it possible to save money. According to him, this will also help assess the efficiency of resource use and the “disciplinary performance” of medical institutions.

It should be noted that clinical guidelines, although they will be advisory in nature, have associated quality assessment criteria for medical care that remain mandatory. Guzel Ulumbekova explains that many in the medical community view these changes with caution, since this may lead to an increase in the number of lawsuits against them. In her opinion, when assessing the quality of medical care, it would be better to focus on final outcomes, as in all developed countries: health, survival and patient satisfaction, hospital complications, etc.

Mikhail Murashko also called in his speech for building a system for planning the need for medicines and equipment. According to him, the write-off of medicines “should be extremely rare,” and when ordering equipment, chief physicians must clearly understand what load it should have.

Another aspect that could have a positive effect on cost savings is the main emphasis on primary care, which will make it possible to stop the flow of patients at the subsequent stages of healthcare. The minister noted that the cost of treatment at the inpatient stage is currently being inflated, so the efficiency of the healthcare system drops sharply in the final indicators.

Is it possible to raise salaries through savings

Andrey Konoval believes that there are no longer any resources for a substantial salary increase within the existing healthcare system. According to him, the share of the wage fund in total spending on the healthcare sector is too large for saving the remaining funds to free up any serious money for bonuses to medical workers’ salaries. According to Guzel Ulumbekova, this figure is about 70%. She also believes that the saved money will not become serious support for solving the staffing issue, especially since it does not always go directly to medical workers: often problems have to be addressed with facility repairs, the purchase of additional medical devices, etc.

“Narodny Front. Analitika” expert Sergey Voityuk emphasizes that the budget of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (FOMS) is executed with a surplus every year, although a deficit is planned in advance. According to the results of 2023, the surplus amounted to 104.8 billion rubles instead of the planned deficit of 147.08 million rubles.

— These funds could go to the regions to raise healthcare workers’ salaries, but, according to the Audit Chamber of the Russian Federation, medical organizations in the regions annually receive less CHI funds than they should for the medical care provided due to the excess of medical care volumes allocated by the commission for developing the territorial CHI program, — he told Izvestia.

This may also be related to a hidden deficit in territorial CHI programs, he believes: “For example, in 2023, the total amount of excess volumes not paid to medical organizations amounted to 23 billion rubles.”

Experts emphasize that calls for efficient spending of funds are correct in themselves. However, according to Sergey Voityuk, the problem requires “not only local optimizations, but also a revision of federal policy on the distribution and use of budget funds.” In particular, increasing healthcare spending in Russia to at least 5% of GDP from the current level of about 3.5% of GDP, at which healthcare financing in Russia will be in 2025.

— To gradually increase this figure to 5% by 2030, it will be necessary to inject an additional 700 billion to 1 trillion rubles into the sector each year on top of inflation, — said Guzel Ulumbekova. — Of this, at least 500 billion rubles are needed to implement the new wage system.

https://iz.ru/1806879/sergei-guranov/kadram-rezervy-na-skolko-planiruut-povysit-zarplaty-vracam?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fdzen.ru%2Fnews%2Fsearch

The Audit Chamber reported insufficiently broad access to chemotherapy in a number of regions

The Audit Chamber presented data on regions with minimal access to chemotherapy for cancer patients. In inpatient hospitals, less than 15% of the approved regimens were prescribed in five constituent entities.

The Audit Chamber named the TOP5 regions with the lowest level of access to chemotherapy in cancer treatment in inpatient hospitals. The data were published in the operational report on the execution of the budget of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (FOMS) for 9 months of 2024, which MV reviewed.

The lowest number of treatment regimens used for antitumor therapy in inpatient hospitals was recorded in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (29, or 5.2% of the total number of approved treatment regimens); the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (37, or 6.7%); the Jewish Autonomous Region (68, or 12.3%); the Republic of Mari El (75, or 13.5%) and Sevastopol (82, or 14.8%).

On average across Russia, 554 treatment regimens were used in inpatient hospitals.

An average of 800 regimens were used in day hospitals. At the minimum level, this indicator was found in nine regions, where the range of available medicines did not exceed 15%. These values were lowest in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (three treatment regimens, 0.4% of the total approved), the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (31, or 3.9%), the Republic of Kalmykia (66, or 8.3%), the Republic of Altai (69, or 8.6%), the Republic of Ingushetia (72, or 9%), and the Jewish Autonomous Region (76, or 9.5%).

As explained by the Ministry of Health, low rates of use of antitumor therapy regimens are observed in constituent entities with a small population and, accordingly, a small contingent of cancer patients. At the same time, using the example of Kirov Region (1.1 million population), which has low indicators both in terms of the number of regimens used for antitumor therapy in a day hospital (14.5%) and the hospitalization frequency (3.46), there is a trend whereby constituent entities with approximately the same population achieve much higher indicators in the analyzed area, the auditors note in their conclusions.

According to their estimates, these facts require additional elaboration and analysis by the Ministry of Health and FOMS.

 

According to the Audit Chamber, the volume of medical care for patients with cancer in January–September of this year increased compared with the same period in 2023 by 17.8 billion rubles (297 billion rubles), or by 6%. The total number of paid cases of outpatient medical care increased by 15.8%, in day hospitals by 9.3%, and in inpatient hospitals by 1.3%.

Two-thirds (68%) of the oncologists surveyed report difficulties in prescribing treatment and link the problems to the unavailability of medications required by the patient under the clinical practice guidelines (CPG). Respondents most often pointed to problems with targeted therapy and immunotherapy drugs (60%), as well as supportive care therapy (29%) for cancer patients. 28% of those surveyed reported difficulties in prescribing the necessary chemotherapy, and 13% reported pain management issues, wrote MV.

The first reports of problems with the range of chemotherapy drugs in Outpatient Cancer Care Centers (OCCC) appeared in mid-2021. In the summer of 2022, oncologists asked for adjustments to therapy reimbursement rates, since the mandatory health insurance (MHI) standard used to finance OCCC did not take into account epidemiological data or the use of new anticancer drugs. According to monitoring by the relevant federal project, in 2020 the variety of anticancer drug therapy regimens in OCCC amounted to five or six items. Thus, only 5% of the therapy guaranteed under MHI was available to patients at such centers.

https://medvestnik.ru/content/news/Schetnaya-palata-soobshila-o-nedostatochno-shirokom-ohvate-himioterapiei-v-ryade-regionov.html

Doctors received only a third of the funds allocated for cancer vigilance

The change in the payment procedure in 2024 has so far not fundamentally changed the situation

Russian doctors over the first nine months of 2024 received 12.8 million rubles for detecting cancer during preventive checkups — only a third (33.7%) of the funds allocated for this purpose. These conclusions are presented in the Federal Treasury Chamber’s (FTC) operational report on the execution of the budget of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (FOMS).

In total, from January through September, FOMS allocated 37.9 million rubles to territorial mandatory health insurance funds (TFOMS). In two regions during this period, funds for payments for cancer vigilance were not used. These were Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Region, a representative of the FTC press service clarified.

Since January 1, 2024, one medical worker instead of three, as before, receives a payment of 1,000 rubles for detecting cancer. Such a doctor must schedule the patient for a specialist consultation, diagnostic imaging, or laboratory tests. The payment is granted for each case of cancer first detected and confirmed by test results.

These indicators show a positive trend compared with the same period in 2023, the auditors conclude.

The procedure for making payments for detecting cancer changed only on May 7, 2024, so in effect it has been in force for seven months, not 11, a FOMS press service representative told Vedomosti. During this period, there has been a significant increase in the use of the funds allocated by the Fund for such payments. As of December 1, 2024, 33.7 million rubles had already been sent to medical organizations. By comparison, for 11 months of 2023, that amount was only 4.7 million rubles, he said.

Previously, for detecting a cancer diagnosis confirmed by tests, a payment of 1,000 rubles was provided. It was divided among the doctor who conducted the preventive checkup (500 rubles) and two other medical workers. The person who referred the patient to an oncologist was entitled to 250 rubles, and the same amount went to the person who timely established follow-up care for the patient.

This mechanism was ineffective. From January through September 2023, when this rule was still in force, hospitals spent only 13.8% of the funds received from FOMS by TFOMS on such payments to doctors (a total of 23.8 million rubles). At the same time, in 30 constituent entities, the allocated funding for this purpose was not used over the nine months of 2023.

The share of cancer detected at early stages (I–II, there are four stages in total) in Russia over the first nine months of 2024 was 61% of all newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms, according to the same FTC report.

From January through September last year, according to the auditors, the share of malignant neoplasms detected at stages I–II in the Russian Federation was 60.3%. In mid-November 2023, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that the ministry planned to increase the detection rate of tumors “at early stages, when the prognosis for treatment is most favorable,” from 60% to 80%. This indicator was increased from 54.9% in 2019 to 60.5% in 2023.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Russian Federation after cardiovascular diseases. In 2023, nearly 198 people per 100,000 population died from neoplasms. According to the annual compilations “The State of Cancer Care for the Population of Russia,” cancers of the lip, bladder, and melanoma are most often detected at early stages; in women, cancers of the uterine body, breast, and cervix; in men, prostate cancer. At late stages, stomach and pancreatic cancer, pharyngeal cancer, lung cancer, and others are detected. Diseases that are poorly detected at an early stage are most often found already in an advanced stage, stage IV, and have high mortality in the first year after diagnosis.

Determining exactly which specialist first detected cancer in a person is difficult, and the complexity of the payment process for cancer vigilance discourages doctors from applying for such payments, Larisa Popovich, Director of the Institute for Health Economics at the HSE University, told Vedomosti. In addition, monetary incentives for cancer vigilance are quite small and do not motivate doctors, she noted.

As Alexander Safonov, Professor at the Financial University, pointed out, for this mechanism to work effectively, it is necessary to formalize checklists for detecting cancer more clearly, as well as strengthen the work of healthcare managers who would regularly remind doctors of this task.

In addition, doctors do not refer people for additional, sometimes expensive, examinations, since they do not always result in a confirmed diagnosis, he added. This happens because the inappropriate spending of funds is not supported by the financial management of medical institutions, Safonov explained.

Read more: https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/articles/2024/12/13/1081085-vrachi-poluchili-za-onkonastorozhennost-lish-tret-videlennih-sredstv?from=copy_text


The number of ambulance stations has decreased again in Russia

In Russia, emergency medical care departments and stations continue to be closed. By the end of 2023, there were 55 fewer of them. At the same time, the total number of medical organizations remained unchanged, while the number of polyclinics increased.

In 2023, more than fifty emergency medical care (EMS) departments and stations were closed in Russia. By the end of the year, there were 1,876 such organizations operating, compared with 1,931 in 2022, according to published Rosstat statistics on healthcare system indicators reviewed by MV.

For comparison: in 2020 there were 2,113 EMS departments in the country, and in 2021 there were 2,035. The downward trend in the ambulance service has been observed since 2001. At that time, there were 3,212 EMS organizations in the country. There is no regional breakdown statistics for this section in the report.

The total number of medical organizations remained unchanged last year at 5.2 thousand. As of the end of 2023, there were 5,177 hospitals. The 2022 figure was 5,167. A slight decrease in the number of hospital organizations was observed in the Far Eastern and Siberian federal districts, alongside an increase in their number in the Southern, Northwestern, and North Caucasian districts.

The total number of outpatient clinics and polyclinics increased to 22,719 (22,146 in 2022).

The results of a survey of 1,100 EMS workers from 74 regions showed a depressing state of the service in small towns and rural areas. Most respondents said they worked 1.5 positions or slightly less, and many teams were staffed with one medical worker instead of two, wrote MV, citing monitoring by the independent Action trade union, at the end of May.

Later, the Ministry of Health confirmed shortcomings in the financial support of the emergency medical care service in most regions. It was noted that actual EMS costs exceeded the standards calculated in accordance with the territorial compulsory health insurance program, and that target wage levels for medical workers involved in providing emergency care had not been achieved. Against the backdrop of problems in the EMS system, lawmakers asked the government to take “urgent management measures at all levels,” including raising salaries and regulating workloads in emergency services.

The number of specialists with higher medical education continues to decline in the ambulance service. In 2022, only 10.6% of those working at stations and departments of EMS were doctors. A presentation by Sergey Bagnenko, the chief freelance emergency medical care specialist of the Russian Ministry of Health, Rector of Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, made at the “Emergency Medical Care 2022” congress, showed that the number of doctors (individuals) at EMS stations and departments has been steadily decreasing since 2012. At that time, the number of specialists reached 17,877 people, in 2020 it was 13,602, and in 2021 it was 13,070.

https://medvestnik.ru/content/news/V-Rossii-snova-sokratilos-chislo-stancii-SMP.html


Issues in the application of clinical guidelines will be discussed in an online marathon

Russia’s Ministry of Health has prepared a series of online meetings for doctors with leading healthcare specialists to discuss issues related to the application of clinical guidelines. Recall that the mandatory use of these guidelines is due to take effect next year, and this has raised many questions within the medical community. The ministry promised to provide explanatory work and said that from December 12 to 23, 2024, an educational online marathon, “Clinical Guidelines: Experts Explain,” will be held on the platform of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, where the transition to clinical practice based on the new rules will be discussed.

“Knowledge of clinical guidelines allows doctors to choose the most effective and safe treatment methods for a specific patient with his or her individual characteristics. As part of the educational online marathon, issues related to clinical guidelines both in general and for individual areas of medical care will be discussed,” the Ministry of Health said.

The series of meetings will feature the chief freelance specialists of the Russian Ministry of Health; developers of clinical guidelines; and lawyers.

Any physician can participate in the educational project. To do so, you need to register in your personal account on the website webinars-rmanpo.ru, select one or more webinars in your field in the calendar, and confirm participation by clicking the “Registration” button. https://rg.ru/2024/12/11/voprosy-primeneniia-klinicheskih-rekomendacij-obsudiat-na-onlajn-marafone.html?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fdzen.ru%2Fnews%2Fsearch

Appeal of the National Medical Chamber to all healthcare workers in the country

The National Medical Chamber of the Russian Federation has addressed all healthcare workers with words of “great gratitude for truly selfless work at risk to life and health.”

— It was you who stood in the front lines to defend the Russian people against an unprecedented calamity — the new coronavirus infection, just as you stood in defense of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, — says the address of the presidium of the National Medical Chamber of the Russian Federation to all workers of Russian healthcare. — Regardless of where and in what position you are currently working: in feldsher-midwife stations, in outpatient clinics, polyclinics, on ambulance crews, or in hospitals; whether you are doctors, researchers, feldshers, nurses, orderlies, cleaners, cooks, cafeteria attendants, drivers, or workers of various specialties in medical organizations, you are risking your lives to fight for the lives of our people. And, it turns out, there is nothing more important than this now.

We bow our heads to you and applaud in gratitude for your work. The country will, of course, draw conclusions and give serious attention to all healthcare problems. Healthcare must become self-sufficient in any part of the country in order to withstand any serious trial from which no one is protected today.

Indeed, in recent years, unfortunately, the country has stopped valuing medical workers, and now it has turned out that there is no one more important than you.

We demand that everything possible be done for your protection and social support.

Please stay healthy and take care of yourselves for all Russians and, specifically, for your loved ones. By protecting you, our country is protecting the entire Russian people.

Russia needs you more than ever.

Leonid Roshal,

President of the National Medical Chamber of the Russian Federation.