Episcom releases report on Russian healthcare system

CHICHESTER, UK – Episcom has released a new market research report on Russia’s healthcare system, titled Understanding Russia’s Regional Health Markets. According to the report, progress in the improvement of the country’s health system is slow, particularly in rural areas.

According to the report, funding is central to Russia’s health improvement plans. At the beginning of 2011, obligatory medical insurance contributions increased from 3.1% to 5.1%, deductible from salaries. This will raise an additional R460 billion (US$15.1 billion) over two years and will be used to cover costs of overhauling, equipping hospitals and polyclinics, and providing a wider range of free-of-charge medical services.

Measures to increase income are not sufficient, however. The study reports the challenge of distribution and the recognition that a yawning gap between well provided for cities and the more remote regions exists in countries such as India and China. In Russia, per capita health/social care spending in Moscow is US$665 while in Ivanovo it is US$193. This is reflected in Ivanovo’s health indicators, like death rate and doctors per 1000 inhabitants.

The Russian government introduced the idea of a regional healthcare services modernization scheme in 2010. The scheme aims to improve quality and availability of medical services and raise the profile of the medical profession.