VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“The infant mortality rate has plummeted by almost one-third compared to 2005, even as the birth rate has grown and life expectancy has increased by 3 years in the past five years, which is a lot. The average life expectancy in Russia is nearly 69 years. This might be a modest achievement for Europe, but a growth of three years in a matter of five years is a major achievement. It points to a clear trend, to positive dynamics. I am confident that this development will continue to progress.”
“We took up the formation of a national infrastructure of high-tech healthcare services for the first time in earnest as part of the Healthcare priority national project, and our principled position was to primarily build new clinical centres in the country's regions and thus bring modern high-quality medical care to the people who need it, so that they do not have to get on a train or a plane to receive treatment at Moscow hospitals, spend money on travel, accommodation and incur other expenses that are not directly related to healthcare, or be placed on a waiting list for months or even years to get the operation or tests they need.”
“That being said, this increase in the federal funding should by no means encourage regions to reduce their own spending on healthcare. I hope that regional leaders will heed this. Let me be clear. If some regions have already started repairing hospitals and have promised to buy equipment, they must keep their word, carry out their plans, and not shift the financial burden over to the federal budget. They must complete all the projects that they have begun and pay for all of their commitments in full.”
“As you know, a large medical centre is being constructed in Moscow for children with oncologic diseases, primarily hematologic diseases. This centre will be the largest in Europe, without exaggeration. It'll accommodate between 250 and 300 patients, servicing another 300 patients at its ambulatory clinic. Also, there'll be a research lab and a hotel for the families of young patients. They will be able to come and stay there for the duration of the treatment. This option is very important for such patients. They need their family there. The government is doing this on its own. It'll cost the budget 11 billion roubles. Construction will be finished by next June. The centre will have the latest high-tech equipment. I hope it'll be able to receive its first patients at the end of next year.”
“It is heartening that over the recent years young people have been increasingly gravitating towards careers in medicine. These days, medical school graduates are more and more often choose to pursue a medical career. Today, highly skilled specialists versed in the latest diagnosis and treatment methods are in great demand in our country's healthcare system. High-tech equipment is being widely introduced in our medical institutions, and treatment methods and standards are being improved. We are building new hospitals with sophisticated equipment and new prenatal centres. We have been investing considerable funds in programmes for cardiovascular disease and cancer treatment, in the enhancement of assistance to road traffic accident victims. As you know, we have achieved good results.”
“From 2006 to 2009 we spent almost half a trillion roubles - 453.3 billion - through the Healthcare national priority project alone. These funds were used to provide free medicines for veterans and disabled persons, as well as compensation to those who refused in-kind benefits in favour of monetary payments. We spend over 100 billion roubles to this end every year. In addition, 10,000 outpatient clinics received modern diagnostic equipment, which has shortened queues for specialist care. Finally, 70% of the ambulances in this country were modernised. That's 70% of our entire vehicle fleet! A few words about the need for high-tech medical services: not long ago, only one out of every ten patients had access to such services, but now that number is 60%. We have achieved some of our goals, but frankly we only managed to resolve our most acute, pressing problems.”
"In 2010, we will develop detailed plans for the improvement of the system of compulsory medical insurance. This is a very important, large-scale and complicated task. Apart from that, we need not only to adopt, but also implement a new law on pharmaceutical products, which is now being discussed at the State Duma."
"The prices for companies making vitally important medications will be registered. This is the first thing. Second, the Federal Tariff Service will draft procedures for the constituent entities limiting their authority to regulate mark-ups. On the one hand, maker's prices will be fixed, and, on the other, mark-ups will be limited. These regulations will be effective from January 1, 2010."
"To cut a long story short and make it clear to everyone - the key problem is insufficient funding for the system. There are shortfalls in funding from every source, including the federal and regional governments. We have plans to reform this system. But at the moment we are embarking on a major project to improve the pension system, which will require between 500 and 700 billion roubles in 2010, according to our estimates. Our next effort will be to reform the compulsory medical insurance system gradually."
"This year almost 230,000 patients will benefit from hi-tech medical assistance. The figure will increase to 255,000 in 2010. But of course we would like it to be still higher. To remind you, that the figure in the otherwise good year 2005 was just 60,000. In other words, we have seen a fourfold growth between 2005 and 2009. You would agree that this is a positive result."
