The private Odesa clinic Odrex continues its attempts to restore the image of "savior doctor" to surgeon Vitaliy Rusakov. Despite the fact that this very doctor is currently accused in criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, i.e., improper performance of professional duties by a medical worker, which led to the death of a patient. Read in the UNN material whether such actions violate the Code of Medical Ethics.
In the modern world, reputation is not an addition to business, but its foundation. How a company communicates publicly: what it emphasizes and what it keeps silent about – often says more than any official statements or reports. This is especially true for medicine, where patient trust directly depends on the openness and honesty of the medical institution.
Against this background, the PR strategy of the Odesa clinic Odrex looks at least paradoxical. Instead of professionalism and explanations of the situation, when one of the doctors is being tried for medical negligence that caused the death of a patient, the medical institution chooses the path of actively promoting him as a "savior doctor", while not mentioning the fact of criminal proceedings.
It seems that Odrex decided that the best way to survive a reputational crisis is to pretend that it does not exist. After all, while the Primorsky District Court, chaired by Judge Larysa Pereverzieva, is considering the circumstances of the death of patient Adnan Kivan, the "Odrex" clinic is filming emotional videos about "saved lives" by the accused doctor Vitaliy Rusakov. These videos are published on social networks without clarification and without context. Patients are not explained the main thing: that this same doctor is an accused in a criminal case. And that the court is now only establishing whether his actions, as a medic, were proper.
Such a PR strategy looks not like confidence in one's rightness, but like an attempt to drown out reality and draw public attention to a beautiful story of salvation.
How Odrex Clinic and Rusakov violate the Code of Medical Ethics of Ukraine
And here the question is not only about the taste of PR specialists. After all, the Code of Medical Ethics of Ukraine directly states: a doctor has no right to engage in unfair advertising, allow his name to be used for such advertising, mislead patients, or conceal important information. Public appearances of a doctor should not turn into self-promotion, and trust in the profession cannot be built on silence.
Whether these norms are considered mandatory for themselves in Odrex is currently an open question. The editorial board of UNN sent an official journalistic request to the clinic asking to explain its position: does the medical institution consider it ethical to promote a doctor who is under trial without informing patients about this fact, and does it adhere to the provisions of the Code of Medical Ethics of Ukraine in its activities?
UNN also appealed to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Bioethics Commission under the Ministry of Health with a request to provide clarification on whether the described actions of the doctor and the clinic comply with the norms of the Code of Medical Ethics of Ukraine, as well as what consequences and sanctions are possible in case of violations.
In subsequent materials, UNN will publish the position of the clinic and the regulator – if answers are provided.
Recall
This refers to criminal proceedings investigating the circumstances of the death of Odesa businessman Adnan Kivan during treatment at the Odrex clinic. According to the prosecution, after the surgical intervention, the patient did not receive the necessary antibacterial therapy (antibiotics were not prescribed to him), as well as proper response to postoperative complications. This could have caused the development of sepsis in the patient, which, according to forensic medical examination, could have caused his death. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for March 23, 2026, during which the court will proceed to consider the case on its merits.