“United Russia” intends to decriminalize medical activities
“Decriminalization of medical activity” will soon be devoted to the main directions of the “United Russia” program. This was announced at the VI All-Russian Forum of Medical Volunteers by Dmitry Khubezov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection.
“We all understand how tense our colleagues are now because of the frequent criminal cases. There is already an experience here, we will work to bring everything into the civil law plane, as in the whole world, and not as it is now, when everything happens within the scope of legal proceedings in each case, ”Kubezov said.
Among other main areas of the program, Khubezov named the development of telemedicine (for example, making decisions on the remote movement of car drivers and railway drivers), as well as “import substitution and assistance to the LPR and DPR.”
Discussions on the decriminalization of medical activity and clarification of thematic norms of legislation have been actively going on in Russia since 2018. In some aspects, the opinions in the professional communities and the gastrointestinal organs are of great importance.
The position of the RF IC and the Ministry of Health regarding medical errors
The issue of decriminalization of medical errors was raised by Mikhail Murashko, who at that time was the head of Roszdravnadzor, back in 2018. Murashko notes that doctors work in conditions where any complication entails either financial or criminal risk of infection. “But it happens that the doctor in particular secures and excludes himself alone, unjustifiably attracts colleagues and consultants, which <…> diverts attention from decision-making and draws attention to the quality and efficiency of medical care,” the official said.
Mikhail Murashko returned to the topic of decriminalization in the status of Minister of Health during the World Quality Day forum in November 2020. He then went on to say that society needs to rethink safety and reduce workers’ margin for error, as they often work under “excessive workloads.” The head of the Ministry of Health also noted the gradual transition “from the paternalistic doctor-patient relationship to a real partnership.”
And if Murashko advocated reducing doctors from criminal prosecution for their mistakes (in case this was done unconsciously), then the chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin back in 2019 declaredthat his office supports the preparation of a report regulating the conclusion of “medical error”. The head of the Investigative Committee also emphasized how important it is to distinguish an unintentional mistake from “criminal negligence.” According to Bastrykin, since 2015, doctors have been growing the correct choice about the inappropriate quality of medical care, but only the following sixth case is applied in court. The remains are lost due to the existence of the criminal composition of the “medical error”.
The bill was published on June 20, 2019. Its public discussion took place until June 26, but soon the document with the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts was removed – as specified in the UK, due to the erroneous publication of the current version of the document.
However, the UK had documents on control over criminal cases against doctors before. Alexander Bastrykin back in November 2018 to conclude order to create specialized departments for the investigation of major cases. President of the National Medical Chamber Leonid Roshal expressionthat this regulation to the number of corner cases.
“For an objective investigation, we, just the initiated criminal cases, within the framework of a thorough check of the investigation of the consistent actions of the victims, scrupulously observed in all cases, make the correct conclusion about the guilt or innocence of medical personnel. And as statistics show, indeed, in most cases, in such cases, the increase in production is not to blame, ”Alexander Bastrykin indicated in January 2020 that the Investigative Committee was approaching the so-called medical case.
Mitigation of Medical Diseases for Loss of Powerful Inflammation
About the problem of exacerbation in doctors working with narcotic drugs in early January 2020 spoke and President Vladimir Putin. He then instructed the Government of the Russian Federation to work out the issue of mitigating the consequences for physicians in the event of the loss of potent symptoms. However, a few days later the government gone retired, in connection with which the problem was not discussed in the public field for about a year.
The issue of criminal prosecution of doctors for the loss of negligence of potent recurrent diseases in 2021 was raised by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. He said that the president ordered a bill to reinstate doctors and pharmacists from cases of violation. “If it does not cause any harm to other people and has fixed the loss of the right to a commission”, – September 22, the Prime Minister.
Thematic law was accepted deputies of the State Duma in the third reading in June and signed Vladimir Putin July 1, 2021. According to the document, medical professionals can prevent criminal prosecution for the loss through negligence of potent disease-causing diseases. It is clarified that criminal liability does not arise if “the loss did not harm the interests protected by criminal laws.”
Criminal cases against doctors
According to the IC, in 2018, 2.2 criminal cases were initiated related to the impact of medical care. 410 people were recognized as victims, of which 248 died. In 2020, in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Alexander Bastrykin declaredthat in 2019, the UK received 6.5 excitatory, initiation of 2,168 criminal cases against doctors, of which 273 were sent to the courts.
At the beginning of July 2022, the head physician of the Noginsk district hospital Sergey Livshits at the National Health Care 2022 congress declaredthat in 2021, Russian courts issued 196 convictions against doctors and not a single acquittal, in 2020 – 230 convictions and eight acquittals. By statistics “Action medicine”, in most cases, the defendants in criminal cases were therapists (31.4%), surgeons (19%), obstetricians-gynecologists (13%), pediatricians (8.5%) and anesthesiologists-resuscitators (6.5% ). ).