The parents’ assessment of the procedure for providing paid medical services in a children’s hospital

Insufficient funding of the health system increased demand for medical services lead to a limited access to free medical care and growth of paid medical services. Currently, the specifics of the procedure for providing of paid medical services in children’s hospitals are a problem in the field of rendering of medical care for children. An anonymous survey of 1479 parents of children aged 0 to 18 years who were treated at four multidisciplinary hospitals of St Petersburg were conducted, in order to study the prevalence, structure and procedure of providing of paid medical services. Despite having medical insurance, the provision of paid medical services is widespread in the children’s hospital. According to the results of the survey, 29.6% of parents are forced to use personal funds to pay for medical services in a children’s hospital. Most often, respondents pay for medicines, laboratory tests, instrumental research, medical consultations of the specialists, surgeries and medical devices. The order of their provision is often violated. Parents who used the paid services in a children’s hospital, in most cases, had higher education, low material prosperity of the family, and previous experience of being with a child in the hospital. The highest percentage of paid medical services was recorded during hospitalization of pediatric patients in the emergency order and undergo treated on the surgical departments. Low awareness and lack of legal activity of parents in the acquisition on compulsory health insurance are revealed.