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Medical tourism is gaining popularity in our country: more and more of our countries are waiting for a vacation to spend it with a doctor, and not at sea. Why is this happening? We understand the features of such tourism, its prospects and trends
What is medical tourism and who are medical tourists
Medical tourism is the practice of providing medical services outside the region of residence. In our country, this type of tourism is popular, since it is often easier to get quotas for a particular operation not in the region of registration. Most often, medical tourism refers to the combination of recreation with the receipt of qualified medical care. This can be both a visit by a tourist to health resorts, and a trip to private clinics outside their region. The scope of this domestic type of tourism is not yet regulated by law, but the State Duma is already preparing legal novels for it.
Medical tourists are considered to be vacationers who spend their holidays outside the region of residence and receive medical services in a new place. Medical tourists can be both foreigners who came to Russia for treatment, and our country, going to the doctor from the capital to the regions and vice versa. As a rule, they become medical tourists because of the opportunity to win in the price of services (the cost of treating dental diseases in the capital and in the regions differs significantly), as well as short waiting times for an appointment (it is often easier to get a quota in a region different from the region of residence). Medical tourists are independent – they book treatment with a doctor in another region, and organized – these are those who have purchased a medical tour from a travel agency.
Health-improving medical tours to the regions
The organizer of individual tours and premium travel Tatyana Dzyuban says about the growth of organized tourists going to neighboring regions for treatment: “Previously, tourists had the opportunity to go on vacation to the resorts of the Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary or to the resorts of Slovenia, Switzerland, Italy and France. Now, due to certain restrictions, routes across our country have acquired a special demand.”
The popularity of this type of tourism is added by the Cashback program, according to which part of the funds invested in the trip is returned. According to the information of the travel organizer, places in the sanatorium are sold out quickly, and the demand is constant and does not depend on the season. The most demanded regions in our country for medical tourism are Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, Altai Territory, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad and Kirov regions, as well as the Republics of Tatarstan and Chuvashia.
What do resorts offer?
Tatyana Dzyuban:
“Each sanatorium has its own specialization and focuses on specific diseases. These can be diseases of the stomach, intestines, skin, musculoskeletal system, lungs, metabolic disorders, the work of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. For this, sanatoriums have their own medical facilities and facilities. Today, some of them are also rehabilitating after COVID-19.”
The expert explains that the client who chooses a route for himself, first of all, must announce to the tour operator his illnesses, if any, or other preferences. Next, the operator specifies the price range that suits the tourist. Then, from the list of sanatoriums, a suitable one in the desired region is selected.
Sanatoriums offer a wide range of prices for their services. As in the hotel industry, there is a gradation from three to five stars. The number of stars determines not only the living conditions and food, but comfort.
“Economy class enterprises request an average of ₽3-4 thousand per day. For this amount, the client receives three meals a day and a certain list of services. For some additional services you need to pay extra. They can be bought on the spot at the request of the client and after consultation with the doctor. In higher-class sanatoriums with four or five stars, the price for accommodation starts from ₽16 thousand per day. The medical base there is of a higher level: European equipment is state-of-the-art, and living conditions are more comfortable, ”explains Dzyuban.
Rest or treatment
Tatyana Dzyuban notes that Muscovites planning treatment in the regions are most often interested in short programs for four to five days. They are aimed at relaxation, stress reduction, fatigue, detoxification. These tours are very popular. But for a thorough treatment, you need to spend at least 10 days in a sanatorium.
Clinical tours – trips to hospitals in other cities
If a tourist is not ready to spend his vacation days on a medical tour, he can independently find a clinic in another region and receive a medical service there. The most popular in our country in domestic medical tourism are dental services and plastic surgery.
Plastic surgery in the regions of our country
As Valeria Vasenina, a plastic surgeon from Samara, explains, if plastic surgery is not done in Moscow, they will become more affordable, since prices in the regions are 2-3 times lower than in the capital.
Valeria Vasenina:
“Recently there has been an increasing demand for breast lifts or reductions without implants and for endoscopic forehead lifts. There is still interest in tummy tuck, facelift, blepharoplasty.”
According to the plastic surgeon:
- the cost of blepharoplasty in Samara starts from ₽40 thousand,
- abdominoplasty from ₽180 thousand,
- breast lifts from ₽160 thousand,
- breast augmentation from ₽200 thousand,
- endoscopic forehead lift from ₽100 thousand,
- facelifts from ₽250 thousand
“When a person decides to take such an important step as an operation, it is very important that a trusting relationship develops with the doctor. Understanding and empathy is the key to a good result. And if the decision is made, the doctor is chosen, then the distance will not be an obstacle. I have many out-of-town patients: from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novy Urengoy, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, Saratov,” Vasenina shares.
The doctor explains that in the case of working with a patient from outside his region, he works according to the following scheme: the patient sends her photos, explains what result he wants to achieve, and then she calls him for an online consultation.
The patient and the doctor meet on the day of the operation in the clinic, and in the postoperative period they keep in touch via messengers. If necessary, the patient after the operation should come for examinations in Samara. But, as the surgeon says, even with 2-3 visits to the region, the cost of the operation will be cheaper than in Moscow.
Dentistry in regions
The same opinion is shared by the head physician of the dental clinic in Saratov, Victoria Shataeva. At the same time, regional dentists use the same equipment as their Moscow counterparts.
“I recently had a girl from Moscow treated. In the capital, she was charged ₽1 million for treatment, in Saratov the same cost was ₽450 thousand plus the road, ”the dentist shares.
The doctor is convinced that patients should not start dental tourism when it comes to the treatment of one or two teeth, since the tourist will not receive any benefit along with the road from Moscow. However, if the patient has a lot of expensive work to do, then such a trip makes sense.
The expert notes that in medical tourism there are not only pluses, but also minuses. First of all, it’s a waste of time. If in your city you can keep the treatment of teeth for several hours during the week with the opportunity to return home after each appointment, then in the event of a change of city, you will have to live in it for some time.
Victoria Shataeva:
“During implantation, we ask you to stay in Saratov for 3-4 days to observe how the implant will take root. Before implantation, we treat, then we put the implant, observe and let go for three months. On the second visit, we decide on the shape of the crown, if necessary, we finish the treatment that we did not have time for the first time, and on the third visit, we already put it on.
The dentist explains that the situation is different with braces and liners. They are installed in one day, and after installation, patients are recommended to come for activation once every two to three months.
In the case of dental services, medical tourists travel not only to the regions from Moscow, but vice versa. According to Andrey Ivanov, a dentist, many patients specially come to the capital from the regions when it comes to complex manipulations.
“When it comes to maxillofacial surgery, which is closely related to dentistry, people prefer to be treated in Moscow. There is a large selection of qualified clinics and doctors. I think it is the level of the specialist that makes people from the regions come to the capital for treatment,” says Ivanov.
He is also convinced that medical tourism in our country needs state support, as this will form a new tax system for private medical clinics.
How medical tourism will be regulated by law
Currently, there is no such law on medical tourism. Every year, the State Duma (DG) discusses how to regulate this tourism industry, but legislators have not yet come to a unified decision. As the head of the Committee on Tourism of the State Duma Sangadzhi Tarbaev explains, a working group has already been created under the committee for the development of medical tourism, which so far focuses on inbound tourism from abroad, but at the same time, the development of medical tourism in the regions is not ruled out.
“Based on the fact that recently the flows of domestic tourism have been increasing, tourism has two goals – recreation and health improvement. Tourists who want to improve their health should have the opportunity to receive this service, and businesses should know the rules of the game. We are just developing the rules of the game, ”explains Tarbaev. He does not rule out that in the near future there will be a medical cashback for domestic tourism, but for its development it is necessary to improve the sanatorium infrastructure.
Tarbaev believes that in modern conditions, organized medical tourism is not just a sanatorium, but a place with good accommodation and an affordable price.
“In a number of regions, medical tourism is actively developing – these are Altai, Tatarstan. The market is just being formed, people receive medical services under the CHI policy, the most popular services are rehabilitation and dentistry. We need to understand whether we can provide tax breaks or preferences so that, firstly, enterprises can compete, and secondly, pricing allows people to use this service. So far, we are taking the first steps in this direction,” the deputy concludes.