Event news

The event was organized by the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Medical Tourism Agency.

Advisor to the Chairman of the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee in the area of medical tourism, Svetlana Belova, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. She noted that medical tourism today is actively developing throughout the world, and Russia and St. Petersburg pay great attention to this. The city is a tourist Mecca of the country, and is famous for its high-tech scientific and medical base, sanatorium and recreational facilities in the Kurortny and Petrodvortsovy districts. According to the speaker, this is the first time the Committee has held an event of this format, where doctors study and professionally process cases of patients from different countries and regions.

President of the Association of Medical Tourism and Export of Medical Services, member of the working group on medical tourism under the State Duma Committee on Tourism, Evgeny Chernyshev spoke on the format of the event which allows doctors and agents to get to know each other.

“We will analyze 140 requests – medical cases. St. Petersburg doctors will study these clinical cases that often require the medicine level of capitals. This is the first event in the world of this format aimed at interacting with the medical needs of real people. Congratulations to all the participants, as well as the St. Petersburg Committee on Tourism Development that keeps the tradition of innovation in medical tourism! Not only the regions of Russian, but also friendly countries look up to you,” he noted. According to the speaker, the medical hub is an opportunity to show doctors of St. Petersburg, as well as present their opinions and recommendations to potential medical tourists in different countries.

The participants were greeted by the State Duma deputy Oleg Ivanitsky. He spoke on the role of medical tourism in the Russian economy and its opportunities to contribute to strengthening the status of domestic medicine.

The tourism industry in the Northern Capital is developed in accordance with the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and within the framework of the national project “Tourism and Hospitality Industry” which envisages an increase in the export of tourism services in Russia to 22.3 billion US dollars by 2030 and an increase in foreign tourist flows to 16 million people, and the number of domestic trips across Russia – up to 140 million. It is also envisaged to ensure economic growth in the country through the multiplicity of the tourism industry. Medical tourism is one of the key areas of implementation of the national project.

During the workshop, leading St. Petersburg doctors and representatives of different areas of medicine examined several cases from medical practice and gave recommendations on how to effectively address these situations.

The event was attended by a neurosurgeon from Almazov National Medical Research Center Vyacheslav Kalmens, traumatologist-orthopedist of the Hospital of St. Great Martyr George Konstantin Egorov, head of the department of reproductive technologies of the Mariinskaya Hospital Andrey Ivanov, deputy chief physician for cardiology of the Pokrovskaya Hospital Fatima Bitakova, vascular surgeon of the St. Luke Clinical Hospital Sergey Vazhenin, head of the plastic surgery department at the Abia Clinic Aleksandr Admakin, urologist at the Adamant Clinic Evgeny Stetsik, chief oncologist at the SMT Clinic Leonid Vasiliev, head of the surgical department, ophthalmologist at the Svyatoslav Fedorov National Medical Research Center Maya Nemsitsveridze.

Doctors studied patient cases online and made recommendations. Based on the results of the discussions, the participants noted that they were ready to work with medical tourists from Russian regions and other countries of the world.

Representatives of medical agencies from all over Russia, as well as from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Germany, Turkey, France, Italy, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Kyrgyzstan, Finland, UAE, Nigeria and other countries got acquainted with the recommendations of the doctors.

The medical hub was held as part of the first day of the St. Petersburg Expert Forum on Medical and Health Tourism and the St. Petersburg International Health Forum.

Feedback from participants:

Maya Nemsitsveridze: “This is a very important event from the point of view of relations with different countries. We learn something new and can share experiences. Our technologies are highly developed, and we can provide high-quality, qualified care to patients!”

Vyacheslav Kalmens: “Such events are extremely important. They allow doctors of different specialties to meet and establish contacts with each other. In the applied aspect, we consider live cases and hope that our comments we will help someone. Promoting St. Petersburg as a center for medical tourism is also important. Medicine in St. Petersburg is currently at the forefront in Russia”.

Konstantin Egorov: “The event is undoubtedly important and interesting in terms of introducing the doctors’ activities to medical agencies. This is essential as a start for further cooperation!”

Andrey Ivanov: “The topic of medical tourism in our country is long overdue. Medical tourism is one of the components of solving the problem of demography. And by solving the problem of demography, we are solving the problem of a specific family”.

Fatima Bitakova: “After reviewing the cases, I realized that this format is very promising. People who contact us probably cannot find an answer to their question where they live. And we can take over the cases and solve them with great success!”