The patient as an element of the mechanism of medical care

Investigation of criminal cases of crimes committed during the provision of medical care provides for the study of its mechanism generating socially dangerous consequences. The practice of relevant investigation shows the prevalence of facts of absence of unlawful behavior in the activity of medical workers evaluated from the point of view of criminal law. Consequently, we can conclude that the laws of the mechanism of crime considered in the criminalistics science are not directly applicable to such activities.However, the knowledge of the process of treatment activities for its subsequent criminal law assessment is the core of the investigation of these crimes. In this regard, the author considers possible to use a number of elements of the mechanism of a crime for cognition of regularities of the mechanism of medical care, which will not always have a criminal-law character. In this case one of such elements is the patient.The author’s accumulated experience in investigating crimes committed during the provision of medical care and the study of specialized literature allow us to formulate some tactical recommendations for improving efficiency in this area. Their essence is that investigative activity should be directed on comprehensive study of individual characteristics of the patient, his attitude to the process of medical care and behavior, that is necessary for cognition of the mechanism and objectivization of the investigation.