Vitebsk region plans to increase medical services export to Br17 billion in 2011.

March 10, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA. Medical institutions of the Vitebsk region plan to increase the volume of medical services export to Br17 billion in 2011. This was announced today at a press conference by the head of the healthcare department of the regional executive committee, Yuri Derkach, reports BELTA correspondent. According to the results of 2010, the export of medical services in the region doubled compared to 2009. If last year medical institutions provided services to foreign patients worth about $450,000, then in the first month of 2011, this figure was about $100,000. The rapid pace of service export development is ensured by systematic work in several areas. First of all, it is about the large-scale renewal of the material and technical base of healthcare. In 2010, almost Br43 billion was allocated for the modernization and reconstruction of healthcare facilities in the region. Modern high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic equipment is being acquired for medical institutions. Vitebsk specialists are actively mastering the latest treatment technologies, with an emphasis on introducing high-tech surgical interventions in district-level medical institutions. The development of high-tech care at the district level makes it possible to use the favorable geographical position of the Vitebsk region to increase the volume of service exports. A significant number of foreign patients are citizens of the Russian Federation, Lithuania, and Latvia, with whom the region shares common borders. At the same time, conditions are being created in the region so that during the summer season, foreign tourists, along with recreation on the lakes of the Pridvinsky region, can improve their health in local medical institutions. For the convenience of foreign patients, a specialized medical tourism center operates in the region, which actively promotes medical services in external markets. An Internet website has also been created, where anyone can get acquainted with the register of medical services provided in the region and other related information. The most in-demand specialists among foreign patients are proctologists, cardiologists, dentists, as well as obstetrician-gynecologists from Vitebsk. Increasing the export of medical services makes it possible to earn funds for further development of the volume and types of medical care in the region beyond the norms of social standards, to increase the accessibility of high-tech medical care for residents of the region, and also to successfully solve the issues of professional growth of specialists at the district level of healthcare, noted Yuri Derkach. -0-