MEDICAL TOURISM – A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING, PROMISING INDUSTRY

Abstract

Medical tourism, both domestic and inbound, is rapidly developing in Russia. To keep the pace, it is necessary to improve its service, infrastructure, introduce modern achievements of science and technology in medicine, and improve the pricing policy. To help the development of medical tourism in Russia, the Russian Medical Tourism Association was established. The aim of this association is to provide patients with medical tourism programs with high-quality treatment at the level of world standards, using the capabilities of both public health care and the potential of private Russian and foreign clinics. In Russia, there is a tendency in the organization and development of the creation of regional tourist recreational clusters with a specialization in medical tourism. At present, the living standard of the population of the Russian Federation has decreased, therefore, only wealthy segments of the population can use these services. To attract more tourists, it is necessary to constantly improve and advance the entire system of the health resort complex. It is necessary to pursue a competent pricing policy so that prices for medical tourism services do not grow faster than the income of potential consumers of these services.