Providing Rural Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan with Medical Services Involving Mobile Medical Complexes

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the provision of medical services to the population living in remote rural areas with the
involvement of mobile medical complexes.
Methods. In the course of the study, we analyzed statistical data on providing the population living in remote rural areas of
Kazakhstan with medical services involving mobile medical complexes in 2020-2021.
Results. The analysis indicated, that the coverage of rural residents with medical examinations provided by mobile medical
complexes increased 3.8 times from 6.1% in 2020 to 23.5% in 2021; the amount of specialized vehicles increased 2.6 times from 58
to 152 vehicles, the load per 1 unit of specialized vehicle decreased 2.6 times; the volume of diagnostic studies increased 4.3 times,
the volume of laboratory studies increased 2.9 times; the coverage with diagnostic studies per 1 rural resident slightly decreased by
0.3% on average; the coverage with laboratory tests per 1 rural resident increased 1.3 times on average; the number of specialists’
consultations per 1 rural resident increased on average 3.1 times.
For the analyzed period of 2020-2021, we see a positive trend as the number of new identified cases for all studied medical
conditions increase; however, the proportion of followed-up cases on primary care level remains as low as 17% of the identified patients.
Conclusions. The issue of providing population in remote rural areas with medical services involving mobile medical complexes
is supported by the government, however, it still requires significant support from the regional health departments and the top managers
of healthcare organizations where mobile medical complexes are deployed.