YEREVAN, JULY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues concerning the improvement of the quality and availability of the medical service, as well as the increase in productivity of expenditures of the means allocated by the state budget for the health sphere were discussed during the working meeting of Robert Kocharian, the RA President, and Haroutiun Kushkian, the RA Health Minister, which was held on July 17. The Health Minister introduced the results of the study made in June for the purpose of making more exact the degree of the productivity of management, personnel potential, availability of services, as well as the quality of medical service and the conditions of regional medical institutions. They will serve as bases for implementing investment programs for the development of the health system jointly with the World Bank in the regions. H. Kushkian stated that the modernization process of medical equipment and major repairs of ten regional hospitals will already start from October to November. Robert Kocharian has ordered the Health Minister to increase the productivity of the expenditures of the means allocated to the health system by the state budget, improve the quality and availability of medical service, and speed up the process of optimalization. The President mentioned that the optimalization will give an opportunity to make the management system better, as a result of which the economized financial means will be directed at the development of medical institutions and the medical service for the socially insecure stratum of the population. According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA President's Press Office, issues connected with the improvement of the legislation concerning the health system were also discussed during this meeting.

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