On 6th of June in Penza, on the eve of the 5th Exhibition-conference InnoMed-2018, a meeting of the Council of Public Organizations for the Protection of Patients’ Rights by the Territorial Authority of Roszdravnadzor in Penza Region was held. Within the framework of the meeting, the most relevant problems from the point of view of patient community were discussed, in order to develop approaches and recommendations for their solution. This format of communication allows specialists to learn about the problems in the regions from primary sources.

     The participants discussed the topic of drug insurance. According to Viktor Dmitriev, the Deputy chairman of the Public Council of Roszdravnadzor: «On medicines for one Russian citizen, the government spends a little more than 1,1 thousand rubles a year on average. The spread in costs is huge and it depends on the region». Speaking, Viktor Dmitriev has stressed  the insurance and co-payment programs should replace the current system of monetization of medicinal benefits. The patient on his own expense will be able to purchase the needed medicine, and then will receive compensation from the government. It will be possible strictly on the recommendation of the doctor only. According to experts, drug insurance should be an important direction of development of the Russian medicine until 2030.

     The issue of prescription drugs dispensing in pharmacies was not forgotten. The new rules for the dispensing of prescription drugs come into legal force last year tightened the penalties for employees of pharmacies that illegally sell prescription drugs. Now, a pharmacist for a such violation will pay up to 10 thousand rubles, a placeholder — up to 30 thousand, and the company — up to 150 thousand rubles. Roszdravnadzor found that last year it was one of the main administrative offenses. At the same time, it became clear that the prescriptions are not always properly written, and, therefore, according to the law, the pharmacist has no right to dispense medicines for such drug order. «It is necessary to continue working in this direction, and, also, it is necessary to teach doctors to write a prescription correctly» — Viktor Dmitriev has noted.

     The topic of legal entities responsibility for non-compliance with the instructions of Roszdravnadzor was discussed not for the first time. According to experts, it is necessary to strengthen the control over the quality of work of medical and pharmaceutical organizations, since there is a lack of responsibility among them. It’s time to introduce an administrative responsibility for non-compliance with the requirements of Roszdravnadzor.

     All these problems are increasingly becoming topics of meetings in the regions, which makes it possible to know about the situation directly.