Private medical services available only in major Russian cities
Issue:
September 2013, Vol. 9
Tags:
Private medical services
Lev Averbach, the CEO, principal shareholder and chief medical officer of Coris Assistance, a company working in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, shared his opinions on the state of private medical services in Russia’s Northern Capital.
How would you, as a representative of one of the leading companies in St. Petersburg, characterize the current Russian market of private medical services?
The Russian private medical services market, in our opinion, is mostly developing only in big Russian cities, where they are also mostly densely concentrated in the country. The private medical segment is led by dentistry, whose services are most needed by patients. Other medical services account for about 10-15% of the market, and most of these services are offered by gynecology, urology and cosmetology.
According to official figures, almost all the sectors of the Russian economy lag behind similar sectors in other countries in terms of technological progress. How is the situation in the Russian private medical services sector?
This statement is true, and the Russian private medicine industry is not an exception as it also largely lags behind in technological advancement, as the other sectors of the Russian economy. Indeed, the current level of equipment and infrastructure in Russia’s private healthcare, in our opinion, cannot be compared to those in similar private clinics in most foreign countries.
What is the real level of demand for private healthcare services in today’s Russia, where there is free medical care for all citizens under the state’s Health Project program?
Dental care is the most demanded for services in the Russian private healthcare industry. This is because there is virtually no free and quality medical care in this sector. As far as other services are concerned, the demand for them currently does not exceed 10-15% nationwide, and besides, such market share is only true for large cities.
In continuation of the previous question, what is your relation to free medical policies under the OMS law and can Russians holding such policies get free treatment, as required by the OMS law, in your clinic?
We are very wary about the OMS policy. At the moment, patients holding this policy cannot make use of our services. This is due to high tariffs and the bureaucratic documentation on the issue.
What is your growth forecast for this market in 2013 and in the near future?
We expect it to grow slightly, and mostly, in large cities.
This text was translated from Russian, edited and copy-proofed by The Chrisbon Business Services Agency (www.chrisbon.ru)
Web design,