Treatment With a Smile Pleases Moscow Health Clinics’ Patients

Amid flu epidemics and rude, underpaid Russian medics in a bleak Moscow winter, the American Medical Center stands like an oasis with its spotless floors, smiling nurses and Western-quality health care.

The idea behind AMC was simple: To provide exactly such medical help and service to an expanding community of foreign diplomats, businessmen, journalists, students and tourists in what was then the Soviet capital.

“There wasn’t any Western health care for foreigners. That’s how we first started,” said Dr. Myles Druckman, AMC’s chief medical officer.

It worked. Created in August 1991, just before the hard-line Soviet coup, the U.S.-run outpatient clinic now boasts of having treated more than 25,000 patients, including a growing number of Russian citizens.

The staff has grown to nearly 70 people, including seven doctors and nine nurses, laboratory assistants and pharmacists. The Moscow clinic has moved from a convenient but small location not far from the U.S. Embassy into larger premises off central Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s Fifth Avenue.

Two other clinics are located in St. Petersburg and Alma-Ata.

AMC had a brief monopoly after the breakup of the Soviet Union, but “in the last year, about six or seven Western-style clinics have opened up in Moscow. They are all seeing that there’s a great need in the community for high-quality care,” Druckman said.

But he said competition will only benefit AMC. “It will make people work better, work harder, and shall hopefully bring down some of the business costs,” he said.

Druckman said AMC is continuing to grow, although at a slower rate than in its first years, and is currently treating 50 to 60 patients a day. There are plans to offer dental care at the new two-story Moscow premises.

AMC offers a variety of services including pediatrics, vaccinations, prenatal care, gynecology and acute care. It is associated with Russian hospitals in Moscow that can treat patients in need of hospitalization and, as a backup for medical consultations, has a telephone hookup with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Membership programs include individual, family and corporate membership, and those enlisting enjoy a 30% to 40% discount on AMC services and a 24-hour access to medical help, said Chris Edstein, the clinic’s marketing director.

These services, though, don’t come cheap. The least expensive student membership program costs $40 a month, and a doctor’s exam would cost a non-member a hearty $150, compared with the average Russian monthly pay of $100.

Many still prefer it to other clinics, especially the Russian ones.

“We’ve been here for many years now and developed quite a good reputation for patient care,” Druckman said. “So I think there’s a lot of trust in the community.”

Such advantages as Western-trained physicians and AMC’s emphasis on a “service-oriented system” also are beneficial, he said.

The bright posters, a TV set in the waiting room, toys for children and attentive staff are all part of that; plainly speaking, the secret is being nice to people.

“It’s a very important piece,” Druckman said, smiling. “People want to feel comfortable, they want to feel happy, they want to feel satisfied when they leave. Part of that feeling is that they received good treatment and good advice and were treated nicely and humanely.”’