In 2020, the number of patient complaints about the work of doctors increased by 37.3%

As a result of the control and supervisory measures carried out, only in 9% of cases the fact of violation of citizens' rights in the field of health protection was confirmed.

It is worth noting that one of the reasons for the growth in appeals to the supervisory authorities is the increased burden on the healthcare system due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Roszdravnadzor data clearly demonstrate that the majority of calls are the result of a misunderstanding between a doctor and a patient. Subsequent checks only complicate the work of medical staff, while only one out of ten cases confirms the fact of a violation by a medical worker.

Depending on the type of offense, healthcare professionals may face criminal, civil, administrative or disciplinary liability.

Today, complaints about the work of doctors can come not only to medical organizations, but also to insurance companies, compulsory health insurance funds, federal or regional ministries of health, Roszdravnadzor, law enforcement agencies, and the prosecutor's office. At the same time, there is no single database of appeals and the results of their consideration - each department maintains its own statistics.

An extremely unpleasant and often unexpected circumstance for medical workers is the initiation of a criminal case. Most often, doctors are not ready for such a turn of events and do not know how to behave in this situation, how to defend themselves using their rights, have no idea about the investigation process, therefore they remain in the dark and anxious expectation.

By no means all of the criminal cases initiated against medical workers are made public. And information about them in the media is often disseminated "one-sided", fragmentarily, as a rule, from ignorant persons, therefore greatly distorts reality.

Many complaints can be avoided by early recognition of an emerging serious conflict with the patient or his representatives. The legal literacy of doctors is especially important. Practice shows that knowledge of the conditions and grounds for bringing medical workers to criminal liability, understanding the investigation process, the rules for conducting and the role in proving forensic medical examination helps to significantly minimize professional risks in medicine.

Tatyana Petrova, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Innovative Medical Management of the Academy of Postgraduate Education of the Federal State Budgetary Institution FSCC FMBA of Russia, Lieutenant Colonel of Justice, Investigator for Especially Important Cases of the Department for Investigation of Iatrogenic Crimes of the IC RF, notes:

“It is not uncommon for patients and their relatives to contact the Investigative Committee of Russia. Of course, we are not always talking about illegal actions of medical workers, but a thorough verification of the facts is necessary in any case. The investigation is complicated by insufficient regulatory regulation of medical activity, ambiguity in assessing the correctness of the actions of doctors and the relationship with the outcome. Sometimes it drags on for years ...

The decisive role is played by the result of the forensic medical examination of defects in the provision of medical care. Over a decade of work, we have accumulated a large knowledge base about the reasons for appealing to law enforcement agencies, how to obtain and correctly use evidence, and also generated statistics on the most common medical errors that become the subject of investigation, and the reasons for their occurrence.

We are always ready to share the accumulated knowledge and experience at our educational events, which we hold on the basis of the Academy of Postgraduate Education of the Federal State Budgetary Institution FSCC FMBA of Russia”.