Responsibility lies not only with doctors but also with clinic managers: how the "Odrex Case" can change the medical system
Kyiv • UNN
The resonant "Odrex Case" and dozens of patient complaints about treatment have exposed a systemic problem of Ukrainian patients' vulnerability. The Verkhovna Rada is already discussing the need for legislative changes that will clearly distinguish between professional error and criminal negligence. This concerns the responsibility not only of doctors but also of the management of medical institutions, which must be accountable for management decisions and the organization of care.
The high-profile "Odrex Case," the StopOdrex activist movement with complaints about treatment, and news of patient deaths during treatment have highlighted the critical vulnerability of Ukrainian patients. People's Deputy, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Medical Committee Oksana Dmytriieva believes that the system should begin to change at the legislative level. Read about why Ukraine needs a clear distinction between professional error and criminal negligence, and whether it is possible to introduce responsibility not only for doctors but also for the management of medical institutions, in the UNN material.
When a patient pays a high price for treatment in a private clinic, they are not just buying a comfortable ward, but hoping for a higher level of safety and innovative approaches to treatment. However, the "Odrex Case" shattered this myth. The death of Kadorr Group founder Adnan Kivan, whose life ended within the walls of the Odesa Odrex clinic due to sepsis, became the detonator for a real public explosion. It turned out that behind the glossy facade of the scandalous Odesa clinic hide dozens of criminal proceedings and tragic stories of people who consider themselves or their loved ones victims of treatment at Odrex. It was they who formed the activist movement StopOdrex, which collects and anonymously publishes stories about treatment at the clinic.
Mostly in their stories, former Odrex patients talk about possible manipulations with medical documents, intimidation with fatal diagnoses for the sake of imposing expensive operations, dissemination of personal data of former patients, and even the clinic's cooperation with private funeral services.
People's Deputy, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Medical Committee Oksana Dmytriieva believes that the imperfection of legislation is precisely the reason why medical negligence cases drag on for years, providing no answers to either patients or doctors. According to her, the root of the problem is that the law currently does not allow for a clear separation of fatal accident from deliberate violation of protocols. This turns the search for justice into an endless process where it is almost impossible to find the guilty.
High-profile medical cases that have been in courts for years indicate a systemic problem. The issue is not only the severity of criminal liability, but also the fact that Ukrainian legislation still lacks a clear distinction between criminal negligence, professional error, and a systemic defect in the organization of medical care. Because of this, patients' families wait for years for a fair decision, and doctors work in constant fear of criminal prosecution even in complex clinical situations. Such a model creates neither trust nor safety
The MP noted that in most European countries, the emphasis of legislation is not on the severity of punishment, but on the creation of independent mechanisms for professional review. This refers to clinical commissions and medical self-governance, which are capable of professionally distinguishing objective medical risk from an organizational failure of clinic management. Such an approach would allow for faster establishment of the truth in cases similar to Odrex.
"Back in December, I raised the issue of the need for changes in the approach to reviewing medical incidents. I am convinced that Ukraine needs a system that simultaneously protects patients' rights, provides a fair professional assessment for doctors, and distributes responsibility not only to the performer, but also to the institution and management decisions. Work in this direction continues. I am convinced that we must move from reacting to individual tragedies to creating transparent and predictable rules that will increase trust in the medical system," added Oksana Dmytriieva.
The "Odrex Case" also exposed the problem of selective blindness of the regulator. Despite 10 criminal proceedings related to Odrex's activities (under articles: fraud, improper performance of professional duties by medical workers, and intentional murder), the NSZU continues to conclude contracts with the clinic, directing budget funds there. According to official statements from the administration of the scandalous Odrex, the clinic received over 53 million hryvnias from the NSZU in 2023 alone.
Perhaps the reason for such "convenient blindness" is that the general director of the scandalous Odrex clinic, Tigran Arutyunyan, and the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, as reported by UNN earlier, have known each other for many years? After all, Arutyunyan not only heads the scandalous clinic but is also an official member of the Ministry of Health's working group on the development of private medicine, which is headed by Minister Lyashko. This very group develops the "rules of the game" for the private medical sector. Such a close partnership against the backdrop of 10 criminal cases and numerous patient complaints raises well-founded suspicions of a conflict of interest: can the minister objectively control someone with whom he jointly "develops and regulates" the market?
The situation around the "Odrex Case" is a verdict on the old model of legal relations in Ukrainian medicine. When high bills and influential acquaintances in the Ministry of Health become a "shield" from responsibility, the patient turns into a defenseless consumer of dangerous services. However, there are no winners in this system. Until punishment for systemic failures in management and improper provision of care begins to be clearly regulated by law, we will only see the deepening of the abyss: patients will be afraid to go to hospitals, and professional doctors will be afraid to take on complex cases, so as not to become another "scapegoat" in courts in case of a fatal outcome.
Medicine should not be a lottery or a "dangerous business" where the price of an error is human life. Ukraine needs transparent rules of the game, where patient protection is an unconditional priority, and the responsibility of the medical institution, in case of error, is inevitable.