Drug Policy in the Russian Federation.

Objectives: To describe characteristics of the drug policy in Russia in terms of health technology assessment (HTA), registries of patients, pricing of drugs, cost-containment methods, and reimbursement of drugs.

Methods: The legal and regulatory frameworks and the literature were reviewed to analyze several aspects of Russian healthcare: the scheme of cooperation between its structures, its levels, drug provision, issues related to HTA, the reimbursement system, pricing of medicines, and cost-containment methods.

Results: The Russian drug policy has improved over the last few years: HTA has been developed, rules for the pricing of drugs and cost-containment methods have been established, and registries of patients have been created.