Just a few years ago, the Russian medical tourism market was little known around the world and could be referred to as emerging. This was mostly due to a lack of information about the capabilities of medical facilities in Moscow and other parts of Russia.
Government support became a pivotal point and stimulus for the active growth of the market. Upon the signing of Decree on "National Goals and Strategic Development Objectives of the Russian Federation to 2024" by President Vladimir Putin on May 7, 2018, increasing the export of medical services officially became a national goal. This was followed by the launch of the federal project "Development of the Export of Medical Services" on January 1, 2019, as part of the national "Healthcare" project.
On April 1, 2019, Russian Healthcare Ministry's Federal Research and Development Institute for Organization and Informatization of Healthcare Services established a Coordinating Center for the Implementation of the Federal Project "Development of the Export of Medical Services."
The Coordinating Center informs non-Russian resident patients about medical treatment opportunities through its Medical Tourism in Russia portal. The multilingual website www.russiamedtravel.ru helps search information based on specific type of medical assistance required, by region, and on the map. This unique portal aggregates information about thousands of medical establishments that offer medical services to tourists, as well as information on the cutting-edge medical technologies available in Russia. The website has links to its Instagram page featuring the latest news, success stories of foreign patients receiving treatment in Russia, and Russia's best medical specialists.
Non-Russian residents currently living or working in Moscow, or planning to visit it to receive medical treatment can also use the Medical Tourism in Moscow portal established by the Research and Development Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of the Moscow Department of Healthcare. The website www.mosmedtour.com provides information about medical facilities in Moscow, along with other useful services in Russian and English.
Recreation, health improvement, preventive treatment, rehabilitation and recovery are equally important for the health of medical tourists and other categories of patients from abroad. The website of the State Registry of the Resort Fund of the Russian Federation www.kurort.minzdrav.gov.ru offers information about all the resort areas in the country to help you choose the right medical organization on a map, depending on your medical condition, based on the availability of natural mineral water springs or healing muds, as well as based on a number of other criteria. The information on the webstie is only available in Russian.
The continuous growth of the medical tourism market requires a wide dissemination of information about the successes of Russian healthcare industry, training and professional development of Russian medical care specialists, thematic industry events, and development of management methodologies for medical establishments that offer services to foreign patients. Equally important is the support from medical tourism agencies and cooperation with the tourism industry as a whole. These goals are being successfully targeted by several organizations. The Research and Development Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of the Moscow Department of Healthcare, the Association of Medical Tourism and Export of Medical Services, the Central Exhibition Complex "Expocenter," and a number of others.
Years of hard work have produced tangible results. According to the Medical Tourism in Russia portal, the number of non-Russian resident patients treated in Russia went up to 3 million in 2019, and to nearly 4 million in 2020, which is a dramatic increase from previous periods. At the moment, Russia's medical tourism market is fast-growing, innovative, and highly promising.
Nevertheless, Russia's position in the worldwide healthcare industry ratings still leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, many projects have to be put on hold now due to the pandemic and closed borders. One such project is the easing of visa issuance procedure. However, treatment of patients and launching of new projects continue even in these trying times. We just have to wait to see all the results of the colossal efforts that have been put in by the participants of the medical tourism market, without the distortions of the pandemic, and assess the synergy effects, with their stimulating impact on the development of the healthcare industry and a number of other industries.