Vladimir Krugly: "People should seek treatment in Russia

Today the studio of Vestnik Kavkaza was visited by a member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, the representative of the executive body of the Orel region, Vladimir Krugly. During a live transmission of the Tribune program he spoke about positive changes in the Russian healthcare system, urging the population to be treated according to Compulsory Health Insurance in Russia instead of saving money up to pay for medical treatment abroad, as the majority of diseases, including severe ones, can be cured for free in our country.

First of all, he drew attention to the increase in the quality of Russian medicine. "Over the past few years the quality of our products has increased before our eyes. Their effectiveness has reached the level of foreign medicine. I can give you a lot of examples. I have a feeling that doctors' and the population's opinion also has changed. When I worked as a doctor 15 years ago I thought that imported drugs were significantly better than Russian ones. In recent years my opinion has changed, and many doctors think that Russian medicines are no less efficient than foreign ones,'' the senator said.

The work of the state to encourage the development of new pharmaceuticals and improve the quality of Russian medicine is also important. "Certainly, I would like to change attitudes towards Russian goods much faster. I think that we are still moving in the right direction. The Ministry of Industry and Trade actively supports it. The "Pharma 2020" program, which is being conducted in the ministry now, has significantly stimulated not only the production of generic drugs, but also the production and registration of completely new and innovative Russian medicine," Vladimir Krugly said.

The situation with the treatment of pediatric oncology has also drastically changed for the better. "In the early '90s, when I started working as the head of the department we received a lot of sick children with malignant tumors. The mortality was so high. But then in 1994 my colleagues from Belgorod told me at a conference how their children recover after chemotherapy. I thought, "after chemotherapy?! But it could negatively affect them?" After that I understood that children have a completely different prognosis for recovery. The proper treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, one of the most frequent diseases, gives 90% recovery with early diagnosis. Renal lymphoma –95-97%. The second stage of sarcoma – 100%. People don't believe this, as they just don't know about it," he expressed regret.

"Certainly, I saw more complex diagnoses, but the majority of children can recover in modern conditions. There is every possibility for their treatment in Russia. I have many patients who are now alive and live well. They have children who are beautiful, intelligent and successful."

"Of course, it doesn't mean that all problems are solved, because cancer has different forms and stages. For example, many diseases, especially oncohaematological, which are treated with the help of bone marrow transplantation. It needs high-tech, the quota of which is not enough. However, the treatment of children with cancer should be supported by the state as much as possible. It is clear that our possibilities are limited today, but it is about exclusive cases. The vast majority of patients are treated with the standard-risk group in regional children's hospitals and the federal centers,'' the member of the Federation Council Committee on social policy concluded.