Reform of the Military Medical Commission in Ukraine: What changes for conscripts are promised by the Ministry of Defense.

The reform of the military medical commissions (VMC), which is set to be introduced soon, promises many intriguing changes for Ukrainians. Specifically, as the government has promised, there will no longer be a need to visit territorial recruitment centers (TRC), and manipulations and abuses will become impossible.

On the Ministry of Defense's website, information about the reform, its reasons, and upcoming changes has been published. It is noted that the current VMC system in Ukraine has two opposing flaws: it allows those without legitimate grounds to evade service, while at the same time, individuals with serious illnesses may still be enlisted, ultimately weakening the Armed Forces.

"The reform will separate the decision-making process of the military medical commission into two distinct sets of data — medical and administrative. Some specialists will conduct medical examinations for the VMC, while others will analyze the anonymized results of these medical assessments.", the statement notes.

Another innovation is that there will no longer be a need to visit TRC for the VMC. Those subject to conscription will be able to choose the hospital where they wish to undergo medical examination. From there, the data will be sent to the Electronic Health System (EHS). Subsequently, it will be transferred to the medical information system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which will receive data from both the EHS and the electronic VMC cabinet.

"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. This will eliminate the possibility of manipulation and abuse.", the announcement states.

Additionally, now every decision will have a digital footprint: doctors and VMC staff will affix electronic signatures, and the findings will be stored, simplifying monitoring and verification of VMC activities by law enforcement. The reform is expected to be implemented in three stages by the end of November 2025.

It is worth noting that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, after a National Security and Defense Council meeting addressing numerous violations by the medical and social expert commissions (MSEC) and instances of fake disability claims by officials, instructed to liquidate this system. In his view, accountability should be imposed on the central authorities overseeing the MSEC.

On October 25, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a plan to combat corruption and other offenses within the medical and social expert commissions. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized that MSEC, in their current form, will be abolished this year.

On November 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed in the first reading bill No. 12178, which proposes the dissolution of the medical and social expert commissions. The draft law suggests replacing MSEC with teams of practicing doctors starting from January 1, 2025.