Staffing of doctors in primary health care in Russia

Introduction. A sufficient level of staffing for primary health care is the availability of primary health care for the population. Despite qualitative changes in the healthcare system, the shortage and imbalance of medical personnel in the provision of primary health care is a significant problem.

The purpose was to analyse the main trends in the provision of the health care system of the Russian Federation with physicians providing primary health care for the period 2018–2022.

Methods and material. Statistical, analytical, method of comparative analysis, federal statistical observation No. 30 “Information on a medical institution” for 2018–2022 were used.

Results. During the analysed period, there was a slight decrease in the provision of doctors providing primary health care on an outpatient basis. The staffing of full-time medical positions by individuals in outpatient settings in the Russian Federation increased by 2.1%, and the part-time ratio decreased by 4%, which is a favourable trend.

The level of provision with doctors of the local service differs in the federal districts. In the Russian Federation, there was noted a positive trend in terms of provision with district general practitioners and paediatricians.

The provision of general practitioners, on the contrary, is declining.

Limitations. The research materials are limited to the results of the analysis of the data of the federal statistical observation No. 30 for the federal districts and the Russian Federation as a whole.

Conclusions. There were identified main trends in the availability of doctors providing primary health care in outpatient settings. The shortage and imbalance of personnel in the system of primary health care continue to persist, which requires a comprehensive study of the problem of staffing.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require a conclusion from the Local Ethics Committee.

Contribution of the authors. All authors made an equal contribution to the search and analytical work and preparation of the article, read and approved the final version before publication.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare the absence of any conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Received: July 6, 2023
Accepted: October 11, 2023
Published: December 23, 2023