The private healtcare systems in Europe : what can we learn from Russia?

The European healthcare system is characterized by different kinds of funding: public, insurance-based, and mixed. In Italy, the prolonged economic crisis and the need for a cost reduction in the public administrations make necessary a cut in expenditure, which has a significant impact also on the funding of the healthcare system. The comparison of different European healthcare systems may offer useful insights for a better definition of the European and / or national healthcare provision strategies, which would be economically and financially sustainable but also capable to protect the population health. In this regard, it is worth to analyze the Russian healthcare system, which in the last years has undergone significant changes in its structure and in the way healthcare services are supplied. The peculiarity of the Russian healthcare system, which is quite different from the European standards for both professional requirements and theoretical knowledge, makes Russia an absolutely interesting partner for a future joint venture research. This paper describes the Russian national healthcare system highlights the differences in the demographic and socio-economic structures relatively to the Italian model. The paper supports a reflection on the sustainability of the health care systems and on the organizational forms that would guarantee the supply of better healthcare services in terms of quality, appropriateness and safety, compatibly with its economic sustainability.