The Ministry of Defense has unveiled a draft reform for the Military Medical Commission: what changes can we expect?

The Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has unveiled a reform project for military medical commissions (MMC) aimed at significantly revamping the outdated system. This was announced on Saturday, November 30, by the Ministry of Defense.   The presentation took place during a thematic meeting of the Donor Council on institutional reforms of the Ministry of Defense.   Participants in the meeting noted that the current system of military medical commissions has significant shortcomings. On one hand, it allows certain individuals to evade military service without legitimate grounds, while on the other, it fails to prevent individuals with serious health conditions from serving, creating additional challenges for the Armed Forces.   The Ministry of Defense expects that the reform will enable the separation of decisions made by the military medical commission into two distinct data sets: medical and administrative.   Those undergoing the military medical commission will no longer need to visit the TCK. Military personnel will be able to choose the hospital where they will undergo their medical examination. Data will be transferred from there to the Electronic Health System (EHS).   Subsequently, data from the EHS will be integrated into the medical information system of the Armed Forces, which will be upgraded for this reform: specifically, technical capabilities will be created to receive data from the EHS and the electronic cabinet of the MMC. The military medical commission will receive information about the individual, review it, and make its administrative decision.   Anonymized data will be sent to a random commission, whose members will not know whose documents they are reviewing.   It is also noted that after each decision, a digital trail will be visible - electronic signatures from both the physician and the MMC staff. The findings of the commissions will be retained.   The implementation of the reform will occur in three phases and is expected to be completed by November 2025.   Earlier, it was reported that the government changed the procedure for undergoing the MMC: commanders of military units have been authorized to issue referrals for the MMC.   Online referrals for the MMC will become available in the fall