When people choose a hospital, they mostly choose a hyped brand. A beautiful website, modern renovations, expensive advertising, famous doctors, loud slogans about "innovative treatment" and "world standards" create a sense of security for the patient. This is exactly what a significant part of private medicine marketing is built on today. But does this automatically mean that the clinic actually operates according to the principles of evidence-based medicine? Read more in the UNN article.
Evidence-based medicine is an approach where decisions are made not based on the personal opinion of a doctor or the principle of "that's how it's done," but on the basis of international scientific research, clinical recommendations, and the proven effectiveness of treatment methods, said Yuriy Babinets, director of the MedGuard company, which provides medical support to patients, in a comment to UNN.
In practice, this means that the patient is not prescribed unnecessary examinations or "fashionable treatment without evidence," but rather methods whose effectiveness and safety are realistically confirmed. This is especially important in complex fields — oncology, cardiology, surgery, intensive care, where the cost of an error is very high,
In addition, there is a list of signs by which a person can understand whether a doctor truly works according to the principles of evidence-based medicine: such a specialist explains their decisions in plain language, justifies the prescribed treatment, is not afraid of a "second opinion" from another specialist, and relies on modern international recommendations and clinical protocols.
During the consultation, the patient has the right to ask the doctor the following questions:
- Why do they recommend this specific treatment method for a particular disease?
- Does it comply with international protocols?
- What alternatives exist?
- What are the risks and the prognosis?
- Is a consultation or a meeting of other specialists needed?
Separately, Babinets emphasizes the responsibility of the clinic itself.
It is important to pay attention to the clinic itself: whether it operates according to modern international standards and national protocols; whether there is a multidisciplinary approach; whether post-operative support is provided; whether there is a quality control system for treatment; how openly and honestly they communicate with the patient,
How Odrex Clinic is losing patients and money due to public scandals30.03.26, 14:40
How do private clinics form an image of "evidence-based"?
Reputational marketing for many private medical centers is built on such theses today. One example is the Odesa clinic Odrex. In its public communication and positioning, it describes itself as the "leading private medical center in southern Ukraine," emphasizes cooperation with global medical technology manufacturers Canon and Medtronic, the use of "world diagnostic and treatment protocols," "advanced technologies," as well as the participation of doctors in international medical conferences.
In medical communication, such words can form an association in the patient's mind with evidence-based medicine – modern, protocol-based, and safe medicine. However, does a hyped brand and the use of buzzwords really guarantee patient safety?
"Hornet's Nest": stories of Odrex clinic patients that raise questions
However, medical reputation is not just PR texts and beautiful photos. An important component is real feedback from the clinic's patients who can share their experiences.
Such was the documentary film "Hornet's Nest", which showed another side of the high-profile medical brand. The film tells the stories of people who, after treatment, speak of severe complications, claims regarding the quality of medical care provided, and even the loss of loved ones.
Svitlana Huk says that after surgery, her husband ended up in critical condition, and the treatment, according to her, turned into endless financial pressure. The woman claims that the clinic demanded tens of thousands of hryvnias every day, and after her husband's death, it even sued her for almost 900,000 hryvnias.
The widow also had specific questions regarding the medical documentation. According to her, the documents contained records of services that were not actually performed. In addition, the records were kept in Russian, which is why the "Lviv Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination" refused to conduct a study.
Iryna and Volodymyr tell another story. The man went to the clinic for a planned surgery, but after the intervention, he fell into a medically induced coma with 85% lung damage. Later, the bacterium Serratia marcescens – one of the classic markers of a hospital-acquired infection – was found in him. According to Volodymyr's wife, the Odrex clinic explained the situation to her with the phrase: "this is intensive care, you can catch anything here."
And Khrystyna Totkaylo is convinced that her father was prescribed aggressive chemotherapy despite serious risks and the doubts of other doctors regarding such treatment, which led to his death.
Kateryna Boichuk says that after an expensive operation performed at Odrex, her mother began to have complications. The doctors could not clearly say what was happening; the diagnoses changed every few days. Eventually, the woman died three weeks after the operation.
Olha Melay says in the documentary that her husband underwent a "minimally invasive" procedure to install a chemotherapy port, which the clinic's website described as easy and safe. However, after the operation, the man ended up in intensive care in critical condition and later died.
In all these stories, different diagnoses and different medical circumstances are mentioned. But people describe similar patterns: sudden severe complications, lack of clear explanations from medics or administration, claims regarding documentation, and colossal bills for staying at the clinic.
The stories of Odrex patients have yet to receive a legal assessment from the court and law enforcement agencies. But in parallel, a question arises in society: do the situations described by these people resemble those standards of evidence-based medicine that the Odrex clinic claims to follow?