Human factor found in electronic medical certificates – Auto – Kommersant

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on electronic medical certificates. The document gives the traffic police the right to extrajudicially deprive the rights of drivers who have identified medical contraindications after being examined by a doctor. The Duma opposition skeptically assessed the bill, noting the risks of “social tension” and the ground for corruption of medical workers. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs recognized the problem, promising to strengthen control over doctors.

On November 16, the State Duma considered two government bills in the first reading. The first changes the rules for allowing citizens to drive vehicles. It will be impossible, in particular, to open in the rights of category D (bus) and D1 (minibus), without having a year’s experience in driving a car or truck. Foreigners no later than a year after receiving Russian citizenship or a residence permit will be required to change their national certificates to Russian ones.

Second the draft law converts medical certificates necessary for obtaining rights into electronic form. If a number of diseases (for example, visual impairment, epilepsy) are detected at a medical examination, in a hospital or clinic, you will need to undergo an extraordinary check, it will be prescribed by a doctor. If the check is not passed or the disease is confirmed, the Ministry of Health will cancel the previously issued certificate, and the traffic police will cancel the driver’s license. Now, we recall, the State traffic inspectorate can cancel the certificate only through the court.

The deputies drew attention to the risks for citizens arising from the adoption of the amendments.

“Won’t it be that the traffic police crew will get a doctor in their composition and start arbitrarily stopping people on the highway, conducting a medical examination?” suggested the MP “Fair Russia” Mikhail Delyagin. Representative CPRF Aleksey Kurinny noted that the bill gives the doctor the right, at his own discretion, to send the driver for an additional check.

“Is there a risk that this norm will be corruptly capacious, since the decision is made by one medical worker? Anastasia Udaltsova (KPRF) continued her thought. “Don’t you see the need to establish in the bill the requirements for the qualifications of a medical worker, his length of service and work experience in order to improve the quality of the examination of drivers?”

The deputy from LDPR Vladimir Sipyagin. “The detection of signs of diseases alone, and not by a specialized commission, but by any doctor, regardless of his qualifications, will be enough, in fact, to force a person to be examined,” he said.

“It is not easy to sign up for specialists of a narrow profile, and the draft law allocates a very limited amount of time for this, after which he will be deprived of his rights,” continued Mr. Sipyagin. “It is likely that some enterprising medical workers will offer such citizens to undergo a medical examination on a paid basis in affiliated organizations . How can we allow such a risk of restrictions, which is fraught with the growth of social tension?

Aleksey Kurinny also noted that re-examinations usually take place at the expense of citizens: “What happens if a person paid money, roughly speaking, for an examination, and the doctor’s fears were not confirmed, who will return this amount to him?”

Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov, who presented the bill in the State Duma, responded to the criticism of the deputies. “There are corruptogenic factors in every activity that is associated with the provision of any type of service, including medical, when issuing a hospital certificate, when making a diagnosis,” he answered. “So let’s a priori consider doctors not as corrupt officials. And we fight corruption in other ways.”

The deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs admitted that “any decision carries risks,” but more importantly, the bill will help combat deaths in road accidents that occurred due to unhealthy drivers.

“Corruption manifestations are possible,” he admitted once again. “So, we will take this factor into account when organizing the prompt service of medical institutions by anti-corruption units.”

Amendments to bills must be submitted by 15 December.

Ivan Buranov