Public Health

Public HealthCare System in the Russian Federation (Russia)

The principles of  the Russian Public Health Care System is based on humanity and its availability to people  who need medical assistance.

There are different kinds of medical institutions in the Russian Federation, such as polyclinics, dispensaries, hospitals , emergency ambulance service, sanitary-epidemiological centers, and others.

The main unit in the Russian Public Health Service is a polyclinic. Every district has a policlinik and provides the inhabitants of this district with different kinds of medical aid.

Different specialists work at the polyclinic such as therapeutists, surgeons, ophthalmologists, otorhinolaryngologists,  cardiologists, neurologists and others.

Each doctor has his consulting hours. If а person is unwell he goes to his       district therapeutist, calls a doctor in or may get medical aid at the place of his work. When a patient comes to a doctor the doctor asks him about his complaints, feels his pulse, listens to his heart and lungs, examines his throat, palpates his abdomen. The nurse takes the patient's temperature, measures his blood pressure. All the data of physical examination are written down in the patient's card. If the diagnosis is not clear the doctor asks the patient to undergo some analyses. If the symptoms are outside the therapeutist's competence he refers a patient to a certain specialist. When the diagnosis is made the doctor administers a proper treatment.

Every day before or after his consulting hours a district doctor makes calls and visits those patients who cannot come to the polyclinic themselves.

If a person falls ill late at night or the disease breaks up acutely and suddenly or there is a risk to patient's life there are special facilities for such cases: Emergency ambulance service operates day and night and provides med art to those who fall ill at night or there is a must to ///.

Those patients who need in-patient assistance are hospitalized. There are   different kinds of hospitals in Russia: general hospitals, infectious disease       hospitals, mental disease hospitals, oncologic clinics, maternity homes and others..

Each hospital has wards for patients, procedure rooms, dressing rooms, physiotherapy rooms, X-ray rooms, operating theatres and others.

Everything concerning patients' health and doctor's prescriptions are written down in the patient's case history. All doctor's prescriptions are carried out by nurses. They take the patients' temperature and blood pressure, give injections, infusions. apply mustard plasters. When a patient is discharged from the hospital he is given а medical certificate. According to this document he receives his sick leave pay.

The main principle of the Russian Public Health System is disease prevention. It is always more easy to prevent a disease than to treat it. That's why regular medical checkups are carried out once a year at schools, universities,      institutes and at places of work. They include X-ray check, blood analysis and        physical examination. Children undergo an obligatory vaccination.