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Author : L. Mikhailov
General Secretary, Russian Medical Society
OCTOBER 2017 will mark 15 years since Russia joined the
World Medical Association (WMA). Our country joined the
most influential international medical organization in 2002 at
the 53rd WMA General Assembly in Washington, and coinci-
dentally, 15 years after that event, the 68th WMA General As-
sembly will also take place in the U.S. (Chicago), in October.
Despite the sanctions, the 66th WMA General Assembly was
held in Moscow in October 2015 with great success.
The principle of professional autonomy is of fundamental im-
portance to the WMA. In all the national medical organizations
of WMA member countries, this principle underlies the forma-
tion of the system of the doctor's professional, ethical and fi-
nancial responsibility for the results of medical activity to the national medical corporation and
the corporation's similar forms of responsibility to the state and its citizens. Obviously, without
professional autonomy, it is impossible to ensure the doctor's responsibility for the results of
his medical activity and therefore it is impossible to ensure the doctors' compliance with ethical
and legal norms in relations with their patients or the principles of deontology and mutual pro-
fessional responsibility.
The healthcare system is designed to ensure a person's right to health. A person can exercise
this right only through a doctor but on the condition that the doctor bears professional, ethical
and financial responsibility for a person's health before a professional medical corporation while
the corporation bears the same responsibility to the state and its citizens. A medical corporation
is designed to provide conditions for the doctor to pursue his professional, ethical and public
vocation (calling).
Russia's admission to the world medical political elite was not plain sailing, but without that
membership we could not receive the precious knowledge and experience extremely necessary
for creating an effective healthcare system in the new economic conditions.
The national medical organizations of the WMA member countries work autonomously from
their countries' health ministries and often act in opposition to them but their foreign policy ac-
tivity is traditionally based on collaboration with their countries' foreign ministries. As shown by
the experience of the past several years, this collaboration is very important for both sides. It is
hard to overestimate its importance and this is the basis on which significant international legal,
ethical, socio-med-ical, environmental and humanitarian initiatives, necessary for both our coun-
try and the world, can be implemented.
We are extremely grateful to the Russian Foreign Ministry's subdivisions and officials for their
prompt assistance and valuable advice in organizing the activity of the Russian Medical Society.
Russian Medical Diplomacy