Changing pattern of Russian hospitals.

Although inpatient treatment figures so prominently in Soviet medical practice, little information is published about even basic characteristics of the hospital system. The annual abstract of statistics records only number of hospitals, total bed complements, and bed-to-population ratios for the 15 republics and the Union as a whole. Fortunately a more detailed picture can be assembled for the Russian republic (RSFSR), which is much the largest in respect of population and area. By combining data from two sources' 2 it is possible to identify major trends in the Russian republic over a period of nearly 30 postwar years. Before discussing the time-series, however, one methodological pitfall must be cleared from the path. The data referred to in this article relate not to the totality of civilian units but only to those in what I have termed the main health service; thus they exclude hospitals that do not come under the aegis of the Health Ministry. Among the exclusions are facilities provided for staff of the railways, civil aviation, and water transport, as well as the notorious psychiatric prison-hospitals controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.