Ismail Osmanov: "Moscow to become world leader in medicine in coming years"

Late last year, at the Moscow Formula of Life festival, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin awarded honorary titles to the best healthcare representatives. Head physician of Z.A. Bashlyaeva Children's City Clinical Hospital of Moscow Health Department, Honored Doctor of Russia Ismail Osmanov was named 'The city's best doctor'. Today he told Vestnik Kavkazka about the situation in Moscow healthcare.

- For what merit have you been recognized as 'the city's best doctor'?

- It's not my personal merit, it is the merit of the entire large team of Bashlyaeva Children's City Clinical Hospital. This is a big responsibility, an advance, which we are working off - by increasing the availability and quality of health care delivery not only for children from Moscow, but from all over the country. More than 30% of our patience, the number of which exceeds 170 thousand people a year, are from Russian regions, including patients whom we invite after our Doors Open Day in Russian regions.

- How would you rate the level of health care delivery in Moscow?

- Medicine has developed here a lot faster than anywhere else in the world. Over the past 6-7 years, Moscow has managed to bring healthcare, in particular pediatrics, to the European level. Today we have an equipment of such a level that many of our foreign colleagues are surprised by our levels, our equipment, our technology and the professionalism of our doctors. Many of our doctors have been trained in European countries and other continents. Now, coming abroad, we are proud to realize that we are equipped much better compared to a number of clinics.

- What about its availability?

- Now if a child needs to get a diagnosis, undergo all the necessary research, it is done in a hospital ward of a multi-disciplinary hospital or in one or two days. The average length of stay in hospitals has now been reduced to four days, as opposed to three or four weeks before the modernization of Moscow healthcare, which was taken 7-8 years ago. Such indicators increase the level and quality of health care delivery, its accessibility, that is, much more patients can be hospitalized during the year, being provided with specialized emergency high-tech care.

Moreover, children are provided with high-tech medical care in all directions. There is no need to send them for treatment to federal centers or abroad. Including in cases requiring organ, tissue and marrow transplantation. This is a very big achievement. Every day we increase our levels, our technology, our professionalism. In this regard Moscow will become the world leader in medicine in the coming years.

- What is the situation in the regions, in particular in the North Caucasus?

- There have also been major changes in the regions as well. In addition, Moscow provides concrete practical assistance to all those in need from the regions. One of the leading projects in the Health Ministry titled 'Moscow is the capital of health'. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to get health care. According to the Law on Health Protection, a person has the right to choose a healthcare organization. This right is fully granted to patients from all regions of our country. And this is done not to the detriment of Moscow citizens.

Ismail Osmanov graduated from Dagestan State Medical Institute's Department of Pediatrics in 1983. He completed an internship as a nephrologist and pediatrician at the University Children's Hospital of Buffalo, New York (according to the results of the All-Union Competition). In 1996-2003, he was an Associate Professor and then Professor at Russian State Medical University's Department of Children's Diseases No. 2. In 2003-2012 - he worked a Deputy Director of the Moscow Research Institute of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery of the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development. Since 2012, he has been the head physician of the Tushino Children's City Hospital ( Bashlyaeva Children City Clinical Hospital of the Moscow Department of Health); since 2003 - Professor at the Russian State Medical University's Department of Children's Diseases No. 2 (now Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University) on a part-time basis. Since 2012 - chief pediatric nephrologist of the Moscow Department of Health, chairman of the Scientific Committee of the All-Russian annual congress 'Modern Technologies in Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery'. Since 2016 he has been a head of the University Pediatric Hospital of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University.