Key conclusions
The Far Eastern region is one of the most promising for creating innovative infrastructure in healthcare
“The participation in the fourth technological revolution and development of biomedicine is the key priority for Russia’s healthcare development <…> As of today, 85 regions are involved in this process to various extents. Almost two thirds of regions have already introduced healthcare information systems with image archives already brazed in,” said Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation.
“We have launched the project ‘Care’, which is a road-train, starting 2015. In 2015, it included only one train, while in 2016 we launched two trains – for kids and adults. Simultaneously, the health survey is underway,” said Andrey Kuzmin, Director of Healthcare Department of the Primorsky Territory, Administration of the Primorsky Territory.
“We are building a cancer center in Yakutia and a big specialized facility for children in Komsomolsk-on-Amur within the healthcare development program. We are constructing hospitals on the islands of Kunashir and Paramushir within the Malye Kurily development program. I would like to note a separate program to develop perinatal centers. We will deliver two of them by the end of the year: one on Sakhalin and another in Yakutia,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
“The formation of the healthy lifestyle and people’s motivation for a responsible attitude to their own health is a crucial track for the whole country and for the Far East,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
Key demographic indicators rising
“I would like to note that it is not now that we are building our plans, but they have been executed for years. This is evident from the results reported since 2012, meaning an increase in life expectancy for residents of the Far Eastern Federal District by more than two years and a marked reduction of mortality. In seven months of this year – 12.5 per thousand, which is slightly below the average country level. There has been a substantial decrease in maternal mortality, by 60% in the last year only, which is now in line with the average Russian level. Infant mortality dropped 40% in five years, amounting to 5.8 per thousand live births,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
Life expectancy on track to rise to 76 years by 2025
“76 years is possible, though a 10% increase in state financing for healthcare in real terms is a prerequisite,” said Guzel Ulumbekova, Head, Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management.
Challenges
Limited access to medical aid in certain settlements of the Far Eastern District
“All nine regions composing the Far Eastern Federal District have a list of shortcomings in terms of accessibility. We have signed an agreement to lift those shortcomings with each of the governors <…> The Amur Region has most of them as 38 settlements have limited access to primary healthcare,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
Heavy mortality of employable male population
“The alcoholism level among the population of the Far East is twice as high as the alcoholism level of the country <…> 70% of deaths until the age of 35 years are directly related to alcoholism,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
Solutions
Improving medical aid access
“Only last year 24 new first aid stations were constructed in the Far Eastern Federal District, and 50 were repaired, other sites of infrastructure are being built as well,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
“We have substantially upgraded the emergency medical care fleet. The air medical service is being developed, we evacuated 3,000 people in the Far Eastern Federal District in the first half of this year,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
Introduction of digital technologies, telemedicine development
“At the direction of President it is necessary to connect all outpatient clinics and hospitals of the country to high-speed internet by the end of 2018. This year 261 medical organizations and structural divisions in the Far Eastern Federal District will be connected,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
“Currently, eight out of nine regions have regional information healthcare systems, 56 structural divisions have necessary telemedicine opportunities complying with equal requirements throughout the country,” Veronika Skvortsova said.
“Of course, the future belongs to products with artificial intellect. Today a whole number of programs diagnose a whole range of tomograms faster and more precisely, and detect, for example, lung cancer,” said Mikhail Oseevskiy, President, Rostelecom.
“We have created a system that has been introduced in Karelia, the system of artificial intellect MeDiCase, which conducts an automated debriefing of patients in remote villages with the use of smartphones and software,” said Andrey Vorobyov, Director, MeDiCase.
Japan’s and South Korea’s experience should be used to develop local healthcare system
“Medicine is at the stage where it should develop into the so-called secondary preventative medicine. We also have to develop a brand new concept based on preventive care and we need to use the so-called ‘precision medicine’ concept with the use of Internet of things, big data,” said Hajime Kamada, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Hokuto Hospital.
“We need to develop medicine not as an individual treatment, but as team treatment,” Hajime Kamada said.
Training of skilled staff
“We have already started to implement an international innovative educational medical center where we invite, first of all, specialists in the educational medical cluster from the Asian-Pacific Region. We are ready to receive and share our best practices <…> Our specialists span across the whole country,” said Valentin Shumatov, Rector, "Pacific State Medical University" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation.