Industrial Medicine Development Discussed at Meeting of IPA CIS Expert Advisory Board on Public Health

On 31 March a meeting of the IPA CIS Expert Advisory Board on Public Health was held. The main topic on the agenda was the development of industrial medicine in the CIS countries. It is the system for preventing accidents and occupational diseases of the working population. Representatives of parliaments, authorities, specialized research centers, organizers of public, industrial and military health care took part in the discussion.

The experts exchanged opinions on the key issues of industrial medicine, the need to harmonize legislation governing the health of industrial workers, including in fuel and energy complex, which is important for the economies of each of the CIS countries.

Chair of the IPA CIS Expert Advisory Board on Public Health, RAS academician Yury Shcherbuk opened the meeting. The expert noted that this topic is particularly relevant due to “modern economic circumstances and increased demands of major industrial enterprises - especially when implementing such megaprojects as the development of the Arctic region and the Northern Sea Route. “We are talking about the issues of “remote health care” - the system of health care for people who live and work in remote areas, in geographical and professional isolation, which means the limited access to medical care” said Yury Shcherbuk.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy welcomed the participants. He remembered that the Board was created exactly 10 years ago at the initiative of Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko. The Secretary General noted that the great contribution of the experts in improving the model legislative framework. At the initiative of the Expert Board, the Assembly adopted Recommendations on Harmonization of Public Healthcare Laws in the CIS Member Nations , model laws on Medical Insurance , on Social Advertising and Promoting of Healthy Lifestyles, on Ensuring Children’s Rights on Healthcare in CIS Member Nations , on Organ Donation, on Digital Healthcare , and many other documents.

“Currently drafts of the model law o Professional Liability Insurance of Medical Workers  and Recommendations on legislative regulation of migration processes in periods of pandemics are being developed. At the next meeting of the IPA CIS Council proposals on the inclusion of the draft model laws on Donation of Blood and its Components and on Radiological Protection in Medicine in the long-term plan of model law-making in the Commonwealth of Independent States for 2023-2025 will be considered, - said Dmitry Kobitskiy.

St. Petersburg Vice-Governor Oleg Ergashev, who spoke at the meeting, informed the experts about the new approach to medical examinations. It used to be carried out only at the place of residence, but in the near future it is planned to “start” medical examinations at the place of work and study, which will significantly increase the coverage of labor collectives. Formation of a list of enterprises and schedules of visits of medical workers has already started.

According to Chair of the Committee on Social Policy and Healthcare of St. Petersburg Alexander Rzhanenkov, the recommendations elaborated by the Board can be used by lawmakers in different regions of Russia and other CIS countries in order to improve the help to the working population under new challenges.

Victor Cherepov, Executive Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs for Social Policy and Labour Relations, noted that health indicators of the working population in the Russian Federation have been deteriorating since the 1990s. “It’s about the time to consolidate the efforts of representatives of medicine, business and civil society,” Victor Cherepov stressed. The Vice-President spoke about RUIE’s work in the social sphere, in particular about the creation of the “Health 360°” public movement, which is open for any person or organization and about interaction with employers within the Commonwealth.

Yury Shcherbuk presented a detailed report on the development of industrial medicine as an area of a state and business responsibility. The expert spoke about key issues in this area: unsatisfactory state of occupational medicine, lack of systematic analysis of working population’s health by both employers and public authorities; underestimation of occupational injuries and occupational disease rate, lack of state program aimed at improving health of working population.

“The main issue is significant contradictions in the regulatory frameworks controlling the system of medical and sanitary support of industrial and maritime activities in the Russian Federation. In particular, there is a contradiction between the significantly increased demand for its results connected with the development of major industrial facilities, and maintenance of human potential in these sectors,” - said Yury Scherbuk.

For development of industrial health, the Chair of the Board proposed to create a working group, which would include MPs, industrial managers, lawyers, economists, health organizers to analyze the existing legislation and academic and practical information in the field of industrial workers health protection in the CIS. The task of the group would be development of a model law “on Harmonization of Legislation in the Field of Health Protection of Industrial Workers in the CIS Member Nations.”

The decision was supported by the experts.

Lyudmila Kuzmina, Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Deputy Director of the N.F. Izmerov Labor Medicine Research Institute, spoke about the development of occupational medicine, its current state and prospects. In her opinion, the future lies in a risk-oriented approach to the management of employees’ health and revival of the shop-floor doctors practice.

Lyudmila Kuzmina noted that in order to improve primary specialized medical care the Labor Code should be amended, obliging the employer (depending on the number of employees, harmful factors and jobs, required units) provide medical care for workers. As a possible incentive for employers, the law should provide for partial compensation of costs from obligatory social insurance fund, and possibility of reducing the amount of employer contributions to the obligatory medical insurance fund.

Director of the Arctic Research Center of St. Petersburg State University, Professor, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences Sergey Aplonov, shared information about Arctic research at St. Petersburg State University.

Dean of Law Faculty of St. Petersburg State University of Economics, Director of Research Center for Comparative Law and Strategic Initiatives in Development of National Fuel and Energy Complex, Associate Professor, PhD in law Svetlana Vasilkova spoke about the issues of legal regulation in the field of health protection for workers of remote industrial facilities of fuel and energy complex.

Director of the Research Institute of Industrial and Marine Medicine of FMBA of Russia, Yury Grabskiy and his deputy, PhD Dmitry Rogovanov, presented a paper on “Topical issues of medical and sanitary support for maritime activities”.

The experts also considered a draft model law on Protection of the Population from the Effects of Tobacco Smoke and the Consequences of Consumption of Tobacco and Other Nicotine Containing Products. The experts were introduced to the provisions of the document by Secretary of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Social Policy and Human Rights Evgenia Vladimirova and the representative of the WHO Regional Office for Tobacco Control, Akaky Zoidze.

The members of the Board decided to continue working on the document.

The awarding of memorable signs “IPA CIS. 30 years” was also head in the framework of the session. Dmitry Kobitsky presented awards for contribution to development and improvement the legal basis of the IPA CIS to Yury Scherbuk, Director of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “Eurasian Cooperation in Clinical Recommendations and Development of National Health” Sergey Savashinsky, and Professor of the Chair of Labor and Social Law of the St. Petersburg State University Law Department Nelli Deveyeva.

Memorable signs were awarded to head doctor of St. Petersburg City Polyclinic No. 120 Sergei Safonov, and head doctor of “MedLab Laboratory” Nina Atamanova.