ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the major developments in the current system of quality management in the Russian healthcare system. Compulsory medical insurance (CMI) was introduced in 1993 to increase the funding of the healthcare system through the imposition of additional taxes. A number of foreign sponsors and international organizations were involved in efforts to transform Russian healthcare. One of the important initiatives in these projects was the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (EBCPG). The initial idea of the National Program of Standardization was to create an array of national prescriptive documents, not only EBCPG, but also classifications of medical procedures for payment purposes and so forth. The introduction of CMI also necessitated the development of quality control in the interactions between patients, hospitals, and healthcare administrations. The Russian healthcare system has introduced an external quality control system. This has been implemented nationally in the form of patient service evaluations.
