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Video from VIII Forum "Movement Against Cancer" is available on the website

24.02.2015

The Annual Forum "Movement Against Cancer" held on February 4 in Moscow dealt with a global theme of the projected growth of cancer care to the population in the context of the completion of the National Cancer Program, reducing of federal spending on health care, the situations of a currency crisis and anti-Russian sanctions.

The event dedicated to World Cancer Day gathered the leading Russian and foreign oncologists, representatives of federal and regional legislative and executive authorities, representatives of the Ministry of Health Care, the leaders of patient organizations, public figures, WHO experts.
2015 is the anniversary of oncology in our country, 70 years ago, in 1945, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR issued a decree "On measures to improve cancer care to the population". Russian doctors consider this date to be the birthday of oncology service.
Mortality from cancer has always been one of the most important sociodemographic problems of the world, and at the beginning of the XXI century, it was ranked first in the sad rating of the leading causes of death among the population of Europe and the United States. According to experts, in the coming years the problems of oncology will become the absolute priority for the Russian health care as well. Like in other developed countries, it is directly related to improving of the quality and length of life of the population - the humanity began to "live until its cancer." Now the peak of the incidence rate in Russia is reached among people who were born in the 40s of the XX century, when the birth rate was low due to objective reasons. Within 5-10 years the "age of cancer" will reach a much larger generation of the 50s, which may lead to a sharp, abrupt increase in the number of cancer patients.
"Considering the demographic situation, the tasks of maintaining and strengthening the public health have long ceased to be purely a medical or regional problem and gained a national scale and significance. Further sustainable development of the country will depend on the effectiveness of such problems solution,” underlined Nikolay Dronov, Member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Health Care of Russia, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Interregional Public Movement "Movement Against Cancer", in his welcome speech to the participants of the Forum. “Either Russia is sure to roll to extinction, or by consolidation of the efforts of all the institutions of the state and society, takes the path of a healthy lifestyle, will develop prevention and system for delivery of highly effective and affordable medical care."
Opening the Forum, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Union "Association of Oncologists of Russia", the Executive Director of NP "Equal Right to Life" Dmitry Borisov said that the implementation of the National cancer program had produced tangible positive results: the equipment of health facilities with modern equipment had improved, new diagnostic and treatment centers had been established, the detection of tumors at an early stage had increased, one-year mortality rates had declined. However, since the completion of the program, many problems are still unsolved, and modern realities created new challenges that require emergency measures to support the cancer care system.
The Forum experts confirmed in their reports that after switching to a single-channel financing several questions remained open, such as payment for operation of innovative equipment and supplies, lack of qualified personnel, the need to create single compulsory medical insurance tariffs and common principles of routing the flow of patients in all regions of the Russian Federation. However, the most important issue is the problem of availability of modern methods of treatment.
"In 2013, federal expenditures on health care accounted for 515 billion rubles, it is planned that by 2016 they should be reduced to 340 billion rubles", said Dmitry Borisov. "The treatment of patients with cancer is the most expensive item in health care. Underfunding of the system is felt in many regions of the country, today 80% of calls from patients to Roszdravnadzor, public and patient organizations are related to affordability of medicines."
The subject of the Forum became legal uncertainty and inconsistency of the drug supply system, the lack of effective mechanisms to prevent from government procurement of drugs with low efficiency and questionable safety, the need for a fundamentally new ideology of preparing the list of VED (Vital and Essential Drugs), and many other important issues. The experts of the Public Council under the Ministry of Health Care of the Russian Federation presented an analytical report on the audit of the drug supply system in 83 regions of Russia. The document prepared with the participation of medical universities, Regional Health Care Departments, Territorial Compulsory Medical Insurance Funds, public and non-profit organizations contained the analysis of the main problems and proposals of management decisions aimed at improving the system for providing Russians with effective, safe and affordable medicines, as well as at increasing the patient-orientation of the Russian Health Care.
For a full exchange of views with participants from all regions of Russia, the Forum was broadcasted live on the Internet. Moscow was contacted by Chief Physician of the Lipetsk Oncology Center Sergey Shinkarev and Chief Physician of the Ivanovo Oncology Center Vladimir Kozlov, who spoke about screening events organized with the assistance of the Interregional Public Movement "Movement Against Cancer" and NP "Equal Right to Life." During February a social action "OnkoDozor" will be held in Ivanovo and Lipetsk aimed at early detection of tumor pathology of the breast. Svetlana Braun, Head of the Directorate on Work with the Districts of the Department of Health Care of Moscow, said to the Forum participants that actions dedicated to World Cancer Day would be held in the capital. The Moscow Government and the Department of Health Care will organize for Muscovites Open Days in cancer clinics and Month of men's health.
The key event of the Forum was a press briefing on the prospects for cancer care in the light of the new strategy of the Russian health care. It was attended by leading Russian experts: Chief Physician of Moscow City Cancer Hospital No. 62 Anatoly Makhson; Chief Oncologist of the Volga Federal District and the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Khasanov; Chief of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology of N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center and Chairman of the Professional Society of Oncologists-Chemotherapeutists Sergey Tyulyandin; Director General of the Group of Companies "R-Pharm" Vasily Ignatiev; First Deputy Director General of "VTB Insurance" Oleg Merkulov.
Welcoming the journalists, the briefing moderator Dmitry Borisov focused on the new "Strategy for the Development of Health Care of the Russian Federation for the long term (2015-2030)", which puts a priority on affordability to and quality of medical care. In addition, the text of the document has first announced the problem of shadow population co-payments for services included in the system of state guarantees. "For the first time state authorities officially recognize that the declared state guarantees in health care are not implemented in full. Currently, there are only two ways to solve this problem - either a huge increase in the state budget, or introduction of "CMI+" system and other mechanisms of separation of financial risks between the state and society," emphasized the expert.
Now this system in Russia is still in its infancy, but the insurance companies have already started to make the first steps to further protection of the population in the event of oncology diseases. "In any country of the world someone cannot fight against cancer alone, be it the state or the medical community," emphasized Oleg Merkulov talking about the first "oncologic" insurance products. "That's why, developing together with "Equal Right to Life" new programs of additional voluntary health insurance, we sought to look at this problem through the eyes of the patient. And we tried our best to provide a patient with financial, legal and expert protection."
The topical issues of the situation in the market of drug products in Russia did not go unnoticed. Talking about the modern realities of the Russian pharmaceutical business, Vasily Ignatiev assured the participants that there was no reason to expect a sharp rise in the price of medicines included in the List of VED: "Budget cuts by 10% this year will slightly affect the health care, which remains a priority for the state. The prices for imported drugs included in the List are fixed in rubles and are still stable. The Government and the Ministry of Health Care are closely monitoring the situation. Of course, the system solution lies in the organization of production within the country that will protect us from price hikes on drugs. This work has been carried out since 2010, when the federal target program for the development of the Russian pharmaceutical industry was adopted."
Summing up the press briefing, the experts stressed the need to closely monitor the situation and evaluate in practice the effect of the single-channel financing on the situation in the industry, and to which extent this assistance can actually be funded from the compulsory medical insurance funds. In an unstable socioeconomic situation, anti-Russian sanctions and the planned reduction of federal spending for health care, we may require additional emergency measures to support the cancer care system.
The Forum participants prepared and signed a draft Appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which formulated certain measures to develop the Russian health care, including the optimization of financing, personnel policy in the period of reforming, as well as increasing the availability of timely diagnosis, quality health care and drug supply. Introducing the draft, Nikolay Dronov said that at the visiting meeting of the Russian Government held on February 3 in Ufa dedicated to the development of priority anti-crisis measures in the health care sector, some proposals formulated in the Appeal were also in the spotlight and became the subject of discussion.
Video from the Forum and press briefing: www.ravnoepravo.ru/video/
Reports of the Forum participants: www.rakpobedim.ru/translations2015/