Speaking at a meeting on healthcare development held in the town of Klin, Dmitry Medvedev stressed that increased spending on healthcare obliges everyone to make wise and productive use of the funds invested in this sector that is of such great importance for people’s lives.
Work on Russia’s social and economic development concept for the period through to 2020 is nearly complete and it gives prominent place to healthcare, the President said.
Mr Medvedev said that this requires the Government to set the priorities for Russia’s healthcare system, formulate them and approve funding.
The President said that priorities include providing timely and professional medical assistance and carrying out effective prevention work. Clear targets and a clear schedule and programme for work are needed for reaching each of these goals.
The key issue is to set new standards of genuinely professional medical treatment, and the mechanisms used to define these standards must be open and transparent. This is important not just for healthcare development in general but also for an effective transition to a new wage payment system for doctors.