Written by Kolodiyant• March 4, 2026• 3:04 pm• Press about us

Article about assessment of state of medicine in Ukraine from Experts Club on Hronikers.com website

Citizens trust family doctors, whom they chose consciously, the most

Most Ukrainians rate the state of medicine in Ukraine as average. This is stated in the study “Medicine after reforms: expectations vs. reality,” conducted by the research group “Active Group,” according to Hronikers.

The study was presented during a press conference at the news agency “Interfax-Ukraine.”

According to the data obtained during the survey, only 3% of respondents rated the medical sector as very good, 16.7% rated it as rather good, 18.7% rated it as rather negative, and 7.2% rated it as very poor. Meanwhile, 54.6% believe that the level of medical services is average.

At the same time, 29.5% of respondents completely trust family doctors, 61.9% partially trust them, and only 8.6% do not trust them.

“In other words, we can say that family doctors, whom people consciously sought out and consciously chose, are generally trusted. And this is a common situation when people may not trust medicine in general, believing that everyone is corrupt. But people know doctors they trust, the phone numbers of these doctors are passed on, and people communicate with them through each other. And this is a kind of personal reputation—it exists, and in principle, the reputation of the system can be based on it,” said Andriy Yeremenko, founder of the research company Active Group.

Respondents were also asked whether they were satisfied with the medical reforms introduced by the state. Here, 50.5% of those surveyed said no. 24.7% of respondents were satisfied, while the rest were unable to give a definite answer to this question.

Grigory Soloninka, member of the board of the public organization “Kyiv Regional Organization ”VULT” and professor of the Department of Internal and Occupational Diseases at the Kyiv Medical University, commented on the research data.

“Reforms have both positive and negative aspects to a certain extent. As a doctor with many years of experience, as a university lecturer, and as a patient, I strongly support all the percentages we are discussing here today. But everyone in the country must understand that there are indeed negative aspects. These negative aspects were initially exacerbated by the pandemic and then by the war. There are many opinions about whether it is appropriate to carry out certain reforms during a pandemic or war, because they involve costs. But the positive aspect of these reforms is that the state understands that people need help in difficult times. There is a good program called 40+, which provides screening for people of this age. In other words, we see a certain step by the state to improve their health even in times of war. Therefore, we must also consider the positive side,” he said.

According to the expert, trust in family doctors is a positive factor, but there is a problem in that medicine is more accessible in large cities, while in rural areas the situation is worse, and therefore more attention needs to be paid to it.

However, Maxim Urakin, candidate of economic sciences, PhD in history, director of development and marketing at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, noted that medicine is part of the country’s economic stability, and when healthcare costs erode family budgets, it affects consumption, savings, and people’s ability to work and recover.

“The vast majority of people in Ukraine paid for treatment or medical services out of their own pockets. This is confirmed by the results of the study. Almost 70% paid regularly, and another quarter paid from time to time. What do the results of the study show? First, the vast majority of Ukrainian citizens paid for medical services or medicines out of their own pockets. Second, for a significant part of society, healthcare costs are not a few percent, as in Europe, the US, or Japan. Almost a quarter of the population spends up to 20% of their family budget on healthcare. And one in five spends more than 20%. In terms of financial analysis, international methodology considers it catastrophic if a person spends more than 10%. Third, the price of medicines is a key factor for our citizens. At the same time, 96% believe that medicine prices have increased. Against this backdrop, how compensation mechanisms work is particularly important. There is a state program, but only 13% of people use it.

Therefore, in his opinion, this program needs to be promoted.

For more details about the study, see the video.