Organization of affordable and high-quality medical care for rural population in the Republic of Belarus

Objective. To carry out a comprehensive assessment of the compliance of the paramedic and obstetric center with modern requirements for ensuring accessibility and quality of medical care to the rural population.

Materials and methods. In 2024–2025, the Republic of Belarus assessed the compliance of paramedic and obstetric centers with modern requirements for accessibility and quality of medical care to the rural population based on basic criteria for medical accreditation. In 2024, 1893 paramedic-obstetric stations were subject to primary medical accreditation, and in 2025, 1056 paramedic–obstetric stations were subject to repeated medical accreditation. The conformity assessment was carried out on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the documents submitted in the “Medical Accreditationˮ information system. To objectify the process, expert doctors have developed unified checklists in order to minimize the subjectivity of the assessment through the use of clear and measurable indicators.

Results. A comparative analysis of the data for 2024–2025 revealed the following key trends: a general decrease in the level of nonconformities with medical accreditation criteria in all regions of the Republic of Belarus, which confirms the positive trend in improving the quality of medical care, the region’s leading in terms of the proportion of nonconformities in 2024 (Gomel, Vitebsk, Brest, Minsk) showed an improvement in indicators in 2025. At the same time, new problem areas have emerged in the Grodno region. The frequency of detection of critical discrepancies in 2025 was significantly reduced (sanitary and epidemiological welfare in Gomel and Minsk regions, equipment of paramedic and obstetric stations in Vitebsk and Brest regions in 2024). Deficiencies in ensuring continuity of medical care came to the fore.

Сonclusion. A comprehensive assessment of the compliance of paramedic and obstetric centers with modern requirements made it possible to systematize approaches to evaluating their activities, identify key problems and reserves for improving the quality of medical care for the rural population, and develop practical recommendations for improving the accreditation process. The results of the study can be used to optimize the work of paramedic and obstetric centers, increase the availability of medical services and achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

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