Help required: Soviet healthcare

[Robocommie]

Hey comrades. I recently was talking with some people about the Soviet system and the subject of healthcare came up. Specifically, I mentioned that for much of it's history the Soviet healthcare system was roughly on par with Western standards. I had an interested party express a desire to read about that - but I'm afraid I have to admit I had no sources on hand to give him.

Does anyone have credible sources attesting to the general quality of Soviet healthcare, perhaps during the 60's and '70s? It would be most appreciated and perhaps seriously contributive to the cause, as the guy who asked is a law clerk doing work on public health care initiatives.

[Anarcho-Brocialist]

Good link here. (http://suite101.com/article/history-of-soviet-union-doctors-a217943) Also there is an article on About (dot) com which has an interesting analysis on the Soviet Health-Care system.

[Dire Helix]

Good link here. (http://suite101.com/article/history-of-soviet-union-doctors-a217943)

In what way is it good? In an attempt to reinforce the stereotypes that capitalist propaganda has created over the years in regards to the Soviet system? Given the tone of the article I`m surprised they didn`t just flat out say that "the USSR didn`t have any semblance of healthcare because communism hates people".


First off, the philosophy of Soviet Union doctors was different to that of Western doctors. As discussed in Red Medicine, "Each doctor is expected to consider the health of his patient, not merely as a patient, but as a member of the community, whose efficiency, if possible, must be increased." The philosophy was not of a caring or business nature, but more of an ideology to help sick patients for the good of the state. Weak links (i.e. sick people) only weakened the state.Here we have a rather blatant attempt at dehumanization(doctors are presented as mere tools used to repair labor force units). Again, typical stereotypes persist: "humans are just tools, individuals don`t matter, state above all" etc. The thing about weak links weakening the state is pulled out of the ass. The official propaganda line was completely different. It stressed that in capitalist countries people only got treated if they had money and that their health was otherwise of no concern to hospital personnel, whereas the healthcare in the USSR was based on completely different principles.


Doctors worked in cities, large towns and villages, mostly focusing on treating patients at factories or places of work. Only a small part of their job was treating people at their homes or in hospitals or clinics. One doctor was often responsible for an entire village, or in a large town, only a handful of doctors treated patients.Bullshit. The USSR circa 1975 had the highest ratio of medical specialists to the number of population. According to official Soviet statistics, in 1975 universities were producing roughly seven times as many medical specialists as in 1940.

Treating people at home or in hospitals was the main part of their job. Each neighborhood was assigned with a "precinct" doctor who was obliged to visit a person shortly after receiving a call from the latter.

Here`s a small excerpt from a BBC article to demonstrate the extent of the Soviet healthcare network on Kyrgyzstan`s example:

Narin province is the poorest region in a country which is now among the poorest of the former Soviet states. The population lives primarily from sheep farming. Tiny villages, at altitudes of 1,500m (4,900ft) and more above sea level, each with just a few hundred people, are spread out across a wide area.

Even in a rich country, health care would not be easy to deliver in such terrain. In Narin province, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the abrupt end of funds from Moscow led to an almost complete collapse of the health system. "In Soviet times there was a very extensive network of primary health services in each village," explains Tobias Schueth, of the Swiss Red Cross. "They even used to fly helicopters up to the high pastures to do vaccinations. "And they had a very extensive hospital system. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union that whole system broke down."

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7318385.stm



Physicians did not participate in childbirth at all. Women gave birth with the help of midwives or other women.Getting more ridiculous by the minute. The USSR had a widespread network of birth houses(or maternity hospitals) provided with the necessary equipment and specialists. These existed not only in cities and small towns but often even in rather remote places(which is no longer the case given that the government has been aggressively cutting the spending on them).


Additionally, simple illnesses such as a common cold or mild flu were not of great concern, thus people did not rush to the doctor in these cases. Instead, they self-treated and self-medicated with home remedies.Nope. People tended to call "precinct" doctors who then prescribed them the needed medicine. I did this dozens of times myself.


Although the Soviet Union provided free healthcare, doctors had a hard time keeping up with the demand, and the people were often left to cure themselves.In modern Russia, given the deliberate destruction of the Soviet healthcare system(which was among the biggest achievements of Soviet socialism) and the rapid deterioration of living standards, many people are left to cure themselves, yes, sometimes by means of religious objects(which is also the result of the sharp drop in education standards and literacy levels). This, however, wasn`t the case in the USSR.

And why for crying out loud does the article use the pamphlet from early 1930-s as a source? It`s the time of the first five-year plan, for fuck`s sake. The country wasn`t even industrialized at that point.

[Ocean Seal]

Hey comrades. I recently was talking with some people about the Soviet system and the subject of healthcare came up. Specifically, I mentioned that for much of it's history the Soviet healthcare system was roughly on par with Western standards. I had an interested party express a desire to read about that - but I'm afraid I have to admit I had no sources on hand to give him.

Does anyone have credible sources attesting to the general quality of Soviet healthcare, perhaps during the 60's and '70s? It would be most appreciated and perhaps seriously contributive to the cause, as the guy who asked is a law clerk doing work on public health care initiatives.

You are going to have a hard time comparing them head to head, but mostly you should stick to the indicators of good healthcare: how long the people live, what % of them have access to healthcare, the elimination of certain diseases, what operations you have access to, doctors per person ratio, etc.

[Robocommie]

You are going to have a hard time comparing them head to head, but mostly you should stick to the indicators of good healthcare: how long the people live, what % of them have access to healthcare, the elimination of certain diseases, what operations you have access to, doctors per person ratio, etc.

Ah, excellent point. In that case, any leads for finding those statistics?

Also, RedScare, if you could possibly cite any books or articles that substantiate what you were saying, preferably in English, I would be grateful!

[Ocean Seal]

Good link here. (http://suite101.com/article/history-of-soviet-union-doctors-a217943) Also there is an article on About (dot) com which has an interesting analysis on the Soviet Health-Care system.
Yep those evil Soviets not letting the people practice privately so that the bureaucrats could masturbate to increased efficiency completely opposed to capitalism. Completely believable.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Hey comrades. I recently was talking with some people about the Soviet system and the subject of healthcare came up. Specifically, I mentioned that for much of it's history the Soviet healthcare system was roughly on par with Western standards. I had an interested party express a desire to read about that - but I'm afraid I have to admit I had no sources on hand to give him.

Does anyone have credible sources attesting to the general quality of Soviet healthcare, perhaps during the 60's and '70s? It would be most appreciated and perhaps seriously contributive to the cause, as the guy who asked is a law clerk doing work on public health care initiatives.

The problem with the Soviet healthcare system, in contrast to Cuba's, is all the specialization it had. If you think the US healthcare system today is fragmented because of so many health specialists and their little disciplines, the Soviets had way more health specialists and their specializations.

[RedZezz]

I found this to be an interesting read.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/newsholme/1933/red-medicine/index.htm

However, it is not in the time period you were requesting.

[Teacher]

Hey comrades. I recently was talking with some people about the Soviet system and the subject of healthcare came up. Specifically, I mentioned that for much of it's history the Soviet healthcare system was roughly on par with Western standards. I had an interested party express a desire to read about that - but I'm afraid I have to admit I had no sources on hand to give him.

Does anyone have credible sources attesting to the general quality of Soviet healthcare, perhaps during the 60's and '70s? It would be most appreciated and perhaps seriously contributive to the cause, as the guy who asked is a law clerk doing work on public health care initiatives.

Here are some articles I pulled from my ocean of Soviet Union files. I can't say I've read them in a long time. Some are from the 1930s and some from the postwar period. I've never tried to upload files to a post before, hopefully I'm doing it right.

[wsg1991]

The problem with the Soviet healthcare system, in contrast to Cuba's, is all the specialization it had. If you think the US healthcare system today is fragmented because of so many health specialists and their little disciplines, the Soviets had way more health specialists and their specializations.

i don't the problem here exactly , the increase of number of specialty is duo to the increase of information that doctors should remember , even in the same specialty such as General surgeons some tend to specialize in number of surgery and practice it this limited operation more of often so they can do it much efficiently

healthcare = efficiency + quality + equality (availability ) + accuracy of spending (1) ( does the healthcare targets population needs )





answering this 4 questions and you will have practically a complete view of the situation

[m1omfg]

My mother was born in a fairly underdeveloped part of USSR in the 70s and she was born in a hospital. That article sucks, especially if it uses information from the early 30s when the country faced freaking famine.

[Die Neue Zeit]

i don't the problem here exactly , the increase of number of specialty is duo to the increase of information that doctors should remember , even in the same specialty such as General surgeons some tend to specialize in number of surgery and practice it this limited operation more of often so they can do it much efficiently

healthcare = efficiency + quality + equality (availability ) + accuracy of spending (1) ( does the healthcare targets population needs )

answering this 4 questions and you will have practically a complete view of the situation

That overspecialization typically means that, outside the big cities, your chances of meeting up with a specialist are lower.

[Robocommie]

Here are some articles I pulled from my ocean of Soviet Union files. I can't say I've read them in a long time. Some are from the 1930s and some from the postwar period. I've never tried to upload files to a post before, hopefully I'm doing it right.

Wow, talk about an embarrassment of riches. Thanks comrade