The Kyiv District Court of Odesa extended the preventive measure for doctors of the Odrex clinic Vitaliy Rusakov and Maryna Bielotserkovska, who are being tried under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the case of the death of businessman Adnan Kivan. In parallel, the accused surgeon continues to operate without making entries in medical records, reports UNN.
By the court's decision, Vitaliy Rusakov and Maryna Bielotserkovska had their preventive measure in the form of a personal obligation extended for another 2 months. In addition, as the accused Vitaliy Rusakov reported on his Facebook page, the court also extended his suspension from the positions of head of surgical department No. 2, surgeon, and endoscopist of LLC "Medical House "Odrex".
At the same time, according to the pre-trial investigation, the surgeon practiced medicine outside the medical facility and did not document the medical interventions performed.
"The pre-trial investigation established that the accused Rusakov practices medical treatment outside the medical facility of LLC "House of Medicine", without entering relevant information about the performed medical procedures into patients' medical records," the prosecutor reported.
Maintaining medical documentation is provided for by Order No. 110 of the Ministry of Health dated February 14, 2012. It is the medical record that contains information about the treatment, interventions, prescriptions, and the patient's condition. If information about the operation is not entered into the documentation, in the event of complications or a court dispute, the patient is effectively deprived of one of the key pieces of evidence that allows establishing what exactly medical actions the doctor performed and whether they met professional standards. As lawyer Andriy Turiy, managing partner of the company "Turiy & Partners", noted in comments to UNN, performing surgical interventions outside a healthcare facility in itself creates serious risks, because the patient's home does not meet the requirements that the law imposes on an operating room.
"Surgical intervention is a type of medical practice that is subject to licensing. The license is issued for a specific place of activity that must meet sanitary, logistical, and organizational requirements (Licensing conditions approved by Resolution of the CMU No. 285 dated March 2, 2016). The patient's residential premises almost never meet the requirements for an operating room (sterility, anesthesia and resuscitation equipment, aseptic/antiseptic conditions, etc.)," Turiy explained.
The Odrex doctors case: PR on a patient's death and accusations of judges' dishonesty29.07.26, 09:00
For performing a surgical intervention under such conditions, a doctor may face disciplinary liability or lose the right to practice professionally. At the same time, the expert emphasizes that the criminal law risk arises not from the mere fact of performing an operation at home or the absence of documentation separately, but from the severe consequences for the patient.
"Criminal liability of a medical worker is real only in the event of severe consequences for the patient, regardless of whether documentation is kept or not," the lawyer emphasizes.
Lawyer Dmytro Kasianenko holds a similar position.
"A doctor does not have the right to practice medicine without a license, outside the declared specialty, and without proper equipment, nor to apply unapproved treatment methods or perform interventions without the patient's informed consent, except in an emergency situation with a direct threat to life," Kasianenko explains.
Why this issue has become relevant in the Odrex doctors' case
Legal clarifications regarding the significance of medical documentation are becoming particularly relevant in the criminal proceedings against doctors of the private clinic Odrex. As previously reported by UNN, the defense side has during this time filed more than a dozen motions: for recusal of judges, for change of jurisdiction, for return of the indictment, and most of all – for postponement of hearings due to the absence of lawyers. As a result, the court cannot fully examine the evidence and answer the question – whether there is a causal link between the actions of the accused and the death of businessman Adnan Kivan.
Therefore, the fact that Vitalii Rusakov performs new medical interventions without making corresponding entries in medical records may suggest that in this way he is trying to protect himself from possible criminal cases. After all, it is the absence of entries in medical documentation that potentially complicates further verification of the doctor's actions and proving the circumstances of treatment.