Meeting of Mikhail Mishustin with the Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare Alla Samoilova

Published on: 2026-09-02

Source: Government of the Russian Federation –

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The head of Roszdravnadzor informed the Chairman of the Government about the results of the service’s work on controlling the quality and availability of medicines, medical devices, medical care, including the integrity of online sales. The progress of integrating medical organizations of new subjects into the unified Russian healthcare system and monitoring the quality of medical care for participants of the special military operation and their families was also discussed.

From the transcript:

M. Mishustin: Good afternoon, dear Alla Vladimirovna!

The work of your service is one of the key components of the effectiveness of the entire Russian healthcare system. You are responsible for the safety and quality of medicines and medical devices. You oversee the state of affairs in the healthcare system—from primary care to federal-level centers—so that citizens can receive qualified assistance in a timely manner regardless of where they live or work, as the head of our state always particularly emphasizes.

Please tell us more about the results of the service’s work. And first of all, about how the oversight of the availability of drugs, medical devices, their quality, as well as the accessibility of the assistance itself, is carried out.

A. Samoylova: Dear Mikhail Vladimirovich!

Quality control, availability of medicines, and medical devices are one of the priority areas of our activities.

Currently, the quality of pharmaceutical drugs is checked by 13 of our laboratories, which are located in all federal districts. At the same time, we control the quality of pharmaceutical drugs both in the inpatient segment and in pharmacies. Moreover, each laboratory has mobile units that can check the quality of pharmaceutical drugs directly in the pharmacy or in the inpatient facility. And this is very important.

We have been working with the drug labeling system for six years now. And this is very important in terms of guaranteeing that counterfeit or substandard drugs do not enter the market.

If during testing in our laboratories a substandard medicinal product is suddenly detected, it is immediately blocked along the supply chain, and this medicinal product can no longer be released to pharmacies or allowed into the hospital sector. Over these six years, the number of substandard medicinal products on the market has decreased significantly. And this is a guarantee that our patients use only high-quality and safe medicinal products.

In addition, today patients very often use online shopping, purchasing medicines remotely, that is, through the internet. And here, controlling the integrity of online sales is of great importance. In just six years, we have blocked more than 130 thousand dishonest online resources.

The exact same work is being carried out for medical devices. Already, 13 types of medical devices are subject to mandatory labeling. And starting from September, an additional eight types will also be required to be labeled. This is also an opportunity to halt the circulation of substandard medical devices.

In the same way, we are currently working with online platforms. If a medical device is sold through an online platform, we have a clear integration with our medical devices registry. And every patient can check the medical device they wish to buy online through the integration with the medical devices registry.

There is also a mobile application called “Honest Sign.” And every patient, on their mobile device, can clearly track how the medicinal product moves along the supply chain, where it was produced, and which points of sale it has passed through. At the moment of purchasing the medicinal product, the patient can calmly verify the authenticity of this medicinal product. Therefore, the mobile application is also very important.

M. Mishustin: The fact that the share of domestic medicines has increased is, of course, a positive result. It is very important that they are delivered to the locations on time and that people even in the most remote areas have access to the necessary drugs.

Work continues on integrating the healthcare organizations of our new subjects – the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions – into a unified Russian healthcare system. Much remains to be done for privileged categories of citizens and to renew the primary care level.

How is the provision of assistance to patients in these regions going?

A. Samoylova: Certainly, assistance and quality control of medical care, as well as ensuring the availability of medicines in new regions, is also an important focus of our work. Currently, there is no system for tracking the movement of medicines in those areas. Therefore, it is there that we effectively monitor the availability of medicines manually, both in the pharmacy and inpatient segments.

But last year a laboratory was opened in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which fully covers new entities with its activities. Therefore, the quality of medicinal products there is also confirmed. To date, we do not see quality violations of medicinal products sold in the pharmacy segment or purchased by medical institutions in these entities. And of course, the quality of medical care there is also under our constant supervision. Our territorial bodies operate in these entities, providing assistance and methodological and control support essentially manually and on an ongoing basis.

Today, a very important direction in our oversight activities is the use of remote methods, in particular the mobile inspector. Overall, more than a thousand consultations have been conducted with the help of the mobile inspector for these entities. That is, our specialists do not visit medical institutions directly, but medical institutions can request assistance from the territorial body. Pharmacy organizations also have this opportunity. And all the necessary details of the work will definitely be explained.

M. Mishustin: Medical workers in these Russian regions operate under special conditions. And their workload is certainly high. They must have everything required – from equipment to medications. The request is to provide them with assistance in all areas and to monitor the sufficiency of such supplies.

And of course, participants in the special military operation must receive medical assistance in full. Roszdravnadzor, as far as I know, is conducting the relevant monitoring.

How is this work progressing?

A. Samoylova: Quality control of medical care provided to participants of the special military operation and their family members is under daily supervision. We receive information from various sources.

First of all, in direct response to patients: we have currently opened a separate channel on our hotline. Patients and their family members can directly contact the hotline. Of course, this also includes written appeals. We receive feedback through groups that operate directly in the regions. These are our public councils. Additionally, our territorial bodies are part of working groups of executive authorities in the healthcare sector in each region. They directly monitor the need for urgent assistance in any area.

Each request is handled by us on an urgent basis. This work is carried out every day.

M. Mishustin: Thank you, Alla Vladimirovna. We need to keep these issues under special control and respond promptly to the appeals of veterans and their relatives in the shortest possible time.

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