THE CRISIS OF THE SOVIET HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES

Abstract

For seven decades, the Soviet healthcare system was the country’s most exceptional and forward-looking institution as well as people’s welfare was declared to be essential for its prosperity and proper functioning. Moreover, health was viewed as one of the necessary goods entitled to every human being. Thus, the state had full authority to provide medical care. The centralized Soviet system be came a model for developing countries and other socialist states. It was established to ensure access to basic services, immunizations, and maternal and child care for all citizens, and achieved significant results in the fight against infectious diseases and epidemics. However, in the later period, the highly centralized system became a factor of delay in the development of medical science. Lack of economic motivation and active state intervention in the sector led it to complete bureaucratization.
The system was interested not so much in satisfying the patient’s needs and solving his problems, but in artificially expanding the network. Although the technological and material foundation of healthcare facilities was morally and physically obsolete or almost ruined, the state allocated funds for the construction of new facilities instead of renovating or even maintaining the existing ones. Then system of higher medical education in Georgia could not respond to modern global standards and growing demands. Deficiencies of professional skills led to an overabundance of medical personnel and relatively low qualifications. The rate of provision of doctors was the highest in the world, which indicated the build-out of the health care system in an extensive way instead of quality. Due to the low wages of health workers, there was less incentive to provide high quality medical care.