1. ^aHumanities and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
2. ^bKharkiv National University, School of Fundamental Medicine, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Correspondence: Anna Markovska, Humanities and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK. E-mail: a.markovska@anglia.ac.uk

Abstract

This paper introduces certain problems of the Ukrainian health-care system, and provides an overview of the local health-care system and pharmaceutical market, and identifies regulatory and legal issues. The authors present the preliminary results of an interview programme with medical practitioners in Ukraine that address the issues of development of relationships between Western pharmaceutical companies and medical practitioners in Ukraine. It also identifies some unique features of these relationships, and discusses the implications for the culture of bribery in this important developing market.