Ethical attitudes of modern public health in Russia

Priority public policy in modern Russia is the realization of citizens’ rights to health care and medical care. Increased funding for health care and new social programs stabilized the situation, but the health of Russians didn’t improve radically. There is an increase in incidence, morbidity and mortality among the population. The mortality rate by reason of incurable diseases remains high, especially among children and youth. Medical institutions now are sufficiently staffed by expensive diagnostic equipment, but it is used inefficiently. In many cases this is due to the lack of doctors’ competence that is the reason of certain ethical attitudes and diagnostic errors. Proof of this is given in the article as extracts from the case history of patients with different disease profile. There are considering the cases of oncology, gynecology, therapeutics, pediatrics and dentistry. In connection with the situation there is the new tendency among the population - desperate to get qualified assistance in Russia and financial support from the state, terminally ill people are trying to be treated abroad, gaining cash through the media and charitable organizations. But foreign clinics in most cases provide quality medical care, and the diseases become «quite curable». Despite the high level of Russian doctors’ professionalism, they are not adequately focused on the treatment of serious diseases. Unnormalized workloads of doctors and low wages have led to reducing the effectiveness of the treatment process, empathy reduction, stress reduction, professional burnout among doctors. Now many of the «curable» diseases have a tendency to atypical progressing course and the occurrence of complications, it is necessary to conduct new clinical trials to develop effective approaches to treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection has a particularly aggressive form, leading to death. This phenomenon requires a more careful study and development of a new generation of antiviral drugs. To improve the situation Russian government should provide special funds for the purchase of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment with focused on the Russian medical technology and increase its quality to international standards, extension of modern medical technology, training doctors and traineeship in foreign clinics.

ethical attitudes, incurable disease, state aid, incompetence, empathy, stress, burnout