Partnership Against the Pandemic: Anti-Crisis Strategies in Medicine

2 September 2021

Partnership Against the Pandemic: Anti-Crisis Strategies in Medicine

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic has highlighted a crisis in traditional healthcare administration and helped to shape new strategies, and the situation is now manageable

“We have been through it all over the last year and a half. You could say we have witness a crisis in the traditional management system. We already understood very well that the classic models weren’t working at the beginning of 2020,” First Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Victor Fisenko.

“The challenges the pandemic has presented us with have changed the most important thing – our way of life. We have changed. These challenges have forced us to change many aspects of our lives, our routines and the way we do things,” Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov.

“The pandemic mankind has lived through has helped us to develop new anti-crisis strategies in all sectors, including in public health,” Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova.

Russia came together during the pandemic, but the world has been split in two since the creation of the vaccine

“We were all very much united around a new and unique mode of interaction between all branches of government, all companies and organizations during those days in March a year and a half ago. For a few days in March, we all came together and very quickly identified the best approaches to cooperation and interaction with the scientific community, the Ministry of Health, and healthcare departments throughout the Russian Federation," Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov.

“I would say that the world has been divided into two halves. One half is much more open and includes Russia, India and the 70 countries that have registered the Sputnik vaccine, because they weren’t thinking about politics… [The second] is in fact the western world, which unfortunately has a very negative attitude towards Russia. It's one thing to have a passive negative attitude, and it’s another not to let the Russian vaccine into your markets, effectively depriving your citizens of a very effective vaccine,” Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

PROBLEMS

The pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in the compulsory medical insurance system and the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund

“The pandemic has shown that without the centralization of healthcare and the Medical Insurance Fund, we are weak. You are very good people, very active in your regions. I am sure you won’t find a single region with the same insurance rates for the same standard of medical care. This is a good question, but the federal fund is only giving recommendations today,” Head of the Subcommittee on Circulation of Medicines and the Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry of the Russian State Duma Committee on Health Protection Aleksandr Petrov.

“It is impossible at present to reliably assess the financing needs of the main compulsory medical insurance programme. We currently lack approved clinical guidelines for almost all diseases, which of course is what should form the basis for financing the compulsory medical insurance system. Financing today is based on what has been achieved and varies according to the specific resources of regional budgets,” Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Galina Izotova.

Public awareness and financing for the healthcare system proved to be inadequate, leading to a so-called ‘cyberpandemic’

“Total mortality rates from all causes per 1 million people in Russia are among the highest among most developed and developing countries. The figure is 2,300 per million people… The primary and most important reason is insufficient state funding for healthcare. In our country, for many years, state funding was 3–3.2% of GDP… Unfortunately, we lost out to the ‘infodemic’, which is to say disinformation, and our approach to dealing with disinformation was insufficient and not always systematic. Despite the fact that four vaccines have already been registered in our country, and this really is to the great credit of our scientists... the number of vaccinated citizens in our country today... is only 30%,” Head of the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management Guzel Ulumbekova.

“Another challenge that cannot be ignored is the fact that the pandemic gave birth to a cyberpandemic. The pandemic actually spawned new types of crimes committed by hackers and cyber fraudsters. Were we prepared for this? The answer is no… It seems to me that our work in building awareness… needs improving. It is important that this work is carried out at all levels, whether at state institutions, in the media, or at the level of internal communications at various companies,” Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov.

SOLUTIONS

Increasing funding for the healthcare system, introducing new technologies and improving the principles of healthcare provision

“The main thing is increasing state funding for healthcare. Let me remind you that in 2019, before the COVID epidemic, [funding] stood at 3.5% of GDP,” Head of the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management Guzel Ulumbekova.

“It is important to acknowledge that digital medical technologies have seen significant changes. Telemedicine has progressed to a whole new level. Of course, the fact that we launched vertically integrated digital telemedicine systems and a one-stop online resource in 2018 – as well as a website for key specialists at the Ministry of Health – helped us a great deal. They actually became reference points for expert advice during the pandemic…. Of course, we adopted completely new principles in creating mobile rapid response units, including major joint detachments of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of up to 100 people, making it possible to deal with serious epidemiological outbreaks in a very short time, around two to three days, at a number of remote enterprises and in remote regions throughout the country,” Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova.

“We also need to acknowledge the model of healthcare provision. We took the route of putting together instructional guidelines, and in the initial months we summarized all global best practices with the help of leading specialists from outside the ministry. We have put together everything we need in order to issue guidelines that will help doctors throughout the country deal with this threat comprehensively. That includes the use of medicines, medical devices and patient treatment methods,” First Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Victor Fisenko.

“We were the first in the world to register an official booster jab, Sputnik Light. This in turn can be used to boost AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer. As you know, we are manufacturing Sputnik Light in very high volumes, so our future strategy is to use it… not just to revaccinate Russians or use it as an independent vaccine, but also to offer it as a booster for AstraZeneca and other vaccines. This is not just a statement of intent: we are carrying out research in Argentina that is showing the effectiveness of these boosters,” Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation's Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org.

Partnership Against the Pandemic: Anti-Crisis Strategies in Medicine

Read more