Journal Article

In Russia, medical profession plods toward 21st century

Sibbald, Barbara

2001

Overview

Evidence-based medicine is becoming the Western norm, but it's still a remote concept in Russia. Dr. Vasiliy Vlassov, the Moscow-based editor of the International Journal of Medical Practice, is on a crusade to change this. However, he says he faces a tough task in a country where physicians see nothing wrong with having \"romantic relationships\" with patients, where medical associations don't enforce ethical standards and where medical school lecturers routinely take cash in exchange for emphasizing specific drugs. Some physicians also accept bribes for providing services - hardly a surprise when surgeons earn the equivalent of about US$100 a month. A major obstacle to professionalism and professional clout is the lack of a national medical association within the country. Three associations claim to be the Russian medical association, but none is truly national. And none is offering certification or evaluation or serving the same function as Canada's provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons. This means there are no restrictions in areas such as romantic relationships between physicians and their patients. \"Most doctors don't understand what's wrong with it,\" says Vlassov. The underlying problem is a lack of health care funding. The annual allocation is only between US$20 and $50 per person. \"In Russia, everybody is promised the health care he or she needs, but in reality it's available to people who have power or money,\" Vlassov says. For example, a Russian with cancer can get surgical care and radiation therapy, but chemotherapy is too expensive and is provided only \"as available.\"

• Publisher: CMA Impact, Inc
• Subject: Durier-Copp, Martine / Evidence-based medicine / Foreign aid / Physicians / Vlassov, Vasiliy