The Primary Link of the State Health Care System in the Russian Federation: Organizational and Legal Status

Primary care is the backbone of the healthcare system. The main function of primary care is the provision of primary health care to the population on a territorial-precinct basis through “first contact” doctors. There is a gap between the importance of primary health care and low public satisfaction with it. One of the main reasons for this current state of affairs is the inadequate organizational and legal status of primary care. The declared formation of a three-tier healthcare system must be based on a more understandable architectural network of healthcare units. It is necessary to harmonize between the types of objects and the types of care they provide, the conditions of provision and forms of medical care.