[Problems of evaluating the delivery of health care by qualitative characteristics].

According to the decision of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the transition to planning and assessing the work of health bodies and facilities by qualitative characteristics has been approved. The latter included the level of general and communicable morbidity, temporary disability, invalidism, mortality, sanitary and epidemiologic well-being. The existing documents on the medical network and manpower contain no evidence on such qualitative characteristics. Numerous institutions are engaged in the collection of basic medical, vital, sanitary and ecologic data. They have no uniform technique of collecting the information, carrying out calculations and comparison of a number of indices, providing the information to the bodies and facilities concerned, especially at the city and regional levels. Thus, health statistics had the similar shortcomings as those stated in the Party and government document "On the measures on radical improvement of the science of statistics in the country". Proceeding from the long-term applied studies the examples of such shortcomings hindering the assessment of health care by qualitative characteristics under new conditions of economic management are given. The proposals aimed at raising reliability and analytical value of health statistics as an important instrument of management are set forth.