Health care diplomacy trumps political tension between the United States and Russia for a delegation of doctors and nurses visiting La Crosse to glean ideas to improve care back home.

The two doctors and three nurses are rubbing elbows with their counterparts and others at Gundersen Health System this week as part of World Services of La Crosses Bridging Cancer Care project.

Our main goal is to improve the health of our patients, their quality of life, Dr. Mikhail Frolov said through an interpreter in answer to a question about strained U.S.-Russian relations. The politics between our countries doesnt make a difference.

On the other hand, their concerns mirror those of their U.S. colleagues not only in health care but also in costs.

Nurse Margarita Vakulina said delegation members learned valuable lessons from the start Monday, as they observed the role of Gundersens nurse coordinators in streamlining care. The position, which does not exist in Russian health care, involves working with patients and dovetailing care with providers and hospital services.

We saw how much money can be saved with just a small number of nurses coordinating care, Vakulina said. If you are talking about costs, this is very important. We are always looking for better practices.

Russias health care system has major differences, Frolov said, adding, Health care in Russia is a government system, with a different structure, different financing and different insurance.

Nurse Irina Azrapkina said, What we can see now is that we cant say one is better than the other all are good, but in different ways.

But we already know that small steps in practice can create big changes in care, Frolov said.

One such change involves patient education, particularly regarding cancer the second-leading cause of death in Russia, delegation members said.

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Russian doctors, nurses practice health-care diplomacy in La Crosse