Reviewing the process of improving the quality of organising preventive medical services during preventive medical examinations with the aim of reducing mortality from cardiovascular diseases

Research objective: to study the process of improving the quality of organisation and provision of preventive medical services during checkups of certain groups of the adult population and preventive medical examinations (PME) at the regional level in order to reduce mortality among the adult population from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) using the example of the Novosibirsk Region. Methods . In July 2023, a pilot (qualitative) stage of the study was conducted, including personal formalised interviews with 99 employees of four medical organisations in the Novosibirsk Region. Respondents were divided into four categories: management (chief physicians, deputies), members of the internal quality control commission, general practitioners (including paramedics acting as physicians) and nursing staff. The research tools were developed by the Federal State Budgetary Institution ‘Central Research Institute of Organisational and Information Technologies’ of the Ministry of Health of Russia. Results . Key problems were identified such as low patient turnout (90.9 % according to managers), insufficient awareness of regulatory documents among medical workers (only 18.2 % of personnel named all relevant orders), gaps in staff knowledge and skills (especially in district services compared to preventive departments), as well as frequent violations in documentation identified by the quality commission (low percentage of referrals to the second stage of the checkup – 62.5 %, errors in questionnaires – 50.0 %). The following measures were recognised as effective in improving the situation: training of employees (54.5 %), creation of a convenient schedule for completing the checkup in one day (54.5 %), and active public information (63.6 %). Conclusions . Despite a general understanding of the objectives of the checkup and medical examination, their implementation is hampered by systemic problems, including staff shortages, lack of time, insufficient staff training and low public motivation. To increase the effectiveness of preventive measures and reduce mortality from CVD, it is necessary to introduce a compulsory subject on preventive medicine into educational programmes at medical institutions and develop practical training courses for all participants in the process.