The authorities are planning to completely solve the problem of providing all patients in need with narcotic and psychotropic painkillers no earlier than 2018. 1 million Russians need to take such medications regularly

Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

The “road map” for increasing the availability of narcotic and psychotropic painkillers should be presented on April 19, 2016, the Council for Trusteeship in the Social Sphere under the government, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, decided.

writes about this Kommersant , having obtained the draft document. It is planned that the full provision of those in need of pain relief with the necessary drugs will be achieved in 2018.

The council presented data that more than 1 million people in Russia need pain relief, while 300 thousand people died without receiving pain relief.

The draft “road map”, developed by council members, public organizations and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, was agreed upon with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Drug Control Service, Roszdravnadzor and the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the publication writes.

The “road map” plans to expand the list of narcotic painkillers. In particular, in the second quarter of 2016, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and a number of state pharmaceutical industries must ensure the development, organization of production and registration of new drugs. At the same time, registered painkillers will be included in the lists of vital and essential drugs and medications for certain categories of patients.

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets instructed the Ministry of Health to complete the creation of a database of patients in need of therapy using narcotic painkillers by November 1, 2016. The creation of such a database should ensure easy access for patients to necessary medications and help determine the real need for them.

The Ministry of Health was also instructed to submit to the government, by April 22, a draft federal law regulating the issuance and issuance of prescriptions for narcotic painkillers in electronic form.

After several high-profile cases of suicide of cancer patients who found themselves without painkillers, amendments were made to the law “On Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances” to increase the validity period of prescriptions for narcotic drugs from 5 to 15 days. After inspections by Roszdravnadzor, it turned out that in 2015, in 16 regions of the Russian Federation, narcotic painkillers were not prescribed on the day of the patient’s appointment, and in 39 regions, patients could not get painkillers prescribed when a doctor visited them at home.

The problem of pain management in Russia is planned to be solved in 2018