Oncological Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article is dedicated to a comprehensive assessment of the issues relating to providing medical care to oncological patients in Russia during the pandemic of COVID-19 coronavirus infection. The author highlights that the coronavirus situation has imposed a serious burden on the healthcare systems and exposed the existing problems in the organization of healthcare in most developed countries of the world. The pandemic has worsened the situation with the availability and quality of medical care provided to the population. The article places special emphasis on the explanation of the extreme vulnerability of patients with malignancies to COVID-19. Based on the analysis of statistical data and public surveys, we provide the estimated prevalence of oncological diseases on the territory of the Russian Federation. The study mainly focuses on the analysis of the current state of the oncological care system. The author has attempted to unveil the core causes of the worsened availability of oncological care to the population. The significant deterioration in the epidemiological situation has not only shown an urgent necessity to adjust the organization of healthcare to patients with malignancies, but also revealed the core problems of the oncological care system that aggravated during the pandemic: inadequate state funding in cancer fighting and suboptimal payment rates for oncological medical care, insufficient staffing, limited availability of diagnostics to the public, shortcomings of the drug supply system to oncological patients. In conclusion, the author substantiates the idea that the coronavirus pandemic should become a driver for the development of the public healthcare and oncological care systems.

Keywords

• health care
• oncological care
• health care system
• staff shortage
• provision of medicines
• pandemic
• coronavirus