Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Oleg Ergashev presented a report on the topic “Prospective development and planning of healthcare in St. Petersburg”. According to the speaker, the healthcare system “makes a significant contribution to strengthening the health and quality of life of people; the person remains at the center of all processes and phenomena”.

The speaker noted the key long-term goals of health care policy: achieving a new quality of life for all generations, increasing life expectancy (up to 78 years in Russia, up to 79 years and 11 months in St. Petersburg). Furthermore, the state’s priorities include maintaining public health, increasing the birth rate, digitalizing healthcare, and supporting medical workers, he added.

“St. Petersburg is a socially significant city, a model for many subjects. When planning the development of healthcare, we take into account the demographic situation, health indicators, features of the territorial development of the city, issues of introducing modern methods and prevention. The agenda involves the development of healthcare digitalization. This is the issue and task number one. Based on feedback, we can interact, react, and make the right management decisions,” Oleg Ergashev said.

He noted that, according to the instructions of the President of Russia, a unified digital healthcare system will be developed in the city.

The Vice-Governor also spoke on the state of the healthcare system in Saint Petersburg. Thus, the city’s public healthcare system involves 300 medical organizations and employs 80,000 people. There are many federal institutions and research centers in the city, and there is a high potential for the development and implementation of modern technologies. According to Oleg Ergashev, the city is provided with healthcare facilities – this includes outpatient services, offices of general practitioners, and clinics. Primary care is provided to the population by 142 adult medical organizations and 79 children's medical organizations. In 2018–2023, 56 outpatient clinics were commissioned; the city plans to commission another 14 buildings for outpatient care by 2026. In addition, a targeted investment program is being implemented in St. Petersburg, and 21,077,470,000 rubles have been allocated for the modernization of primary healthcare.

The Vice-Governor spoke on the city’s provision of beds, as well as the strategy for developing the inpatient unit and improving the provision of medical care. He emphasized that St. Petersburg is among the top 5 constituent entities of the Russian Federation with a high level of medical care. The priorities of the health care system include strategic planning, improving interdepartmental interaction, automation of work, reducing the time it takes to provide care, patient-centricity, openness of data that will allow making accurate management decisions, the Vice-Governor emphasized.

The director of the State Institution “Territorial Fund of Compulsory Medical Insurance of St. Petersburg” Konstantin Zvonik spoke on the system of compulsory medical insurance in St. Petersburg, which turned 30 years old. He recalled that the Russian law on medical insurance of citizens was adopted in 1991, which became a kind of start for the development of the compulsory medical insurance system. In 1993, the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund was created, and a territorial compulsory medical insurance fund was established in St. Petersburg. In 2010, the compulsory medical insurance system was reformed due to which, since 2011, citizens have an opportunity to choose an insurance company and receive assistance in different regions of Russia.

The speaker emphasized that the budget of the territorial compulsory medical insurance fund is constantly growing – since 2013 it has grown almost 3 times. It is expected that by 2024 the fund's budget will reach 154.2 billion rubles.

“In the compulsory medical insurance system of St. Petersburg, 382 medical organizations provide medical care, 6.1 million citizens are registered here, and 6 medical insurance organizations operate. We have a call center, there are also insurance agents; the compulsory health insurance system is being computerized, inter alia, in the field of managing the flow of planned hospitalization,” noted Konstantin Zvonik.

He spoke on the portal used by medical organizations. 167 outpatient clinics, 65 hospitals, and 6 insurance organizations are connected to the system.

In addition, the city began issuing digital compulsory medical insurance certificates in December 2022. As the speaker noted, since that time, about 550,000 digital compulsory medical insurance certificates have been issued in St. Petersburg, including 9,221 through the personal account in Gosuslugi (Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services) (without contacting the insurance company or the MFC).

“Over the 30 years of operation, the compulsory medical insurance system has changed qualitatively and has earned the trust of patients from St. Petersburg and other regions,” he concluded.

General Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Almazov National Medical Research Center” Evgeny Shlyakhto devoted his report to the strategy of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In his opinion, the issue of working with the population and educating the population is critical, and without it, all projects in the field of health care cannot be fully implemented.

Evgeny Shlyakhto spoke on the WHO Health Strategy, the priorities of which include reducing mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases, reducing alcohol abuse, salt consumption, stopping the rise in obesity, etc. According to him, Russia has achieved good results in reducing mortality and increasing life expectancy, and also has achievements in the field of cardiac services.

“Diseases of the cardiovascular system should be the focus of all cities and governments,” the speaker emphasized.

According to him, there are several challenges in the field of prevention, treatment and organization of care for cardiovascular diseases: the introduction of data-based management, the integration of all stages of care, the personalization of care, the use of best regional practices. At the same time, St. Petersburg can become a leader in the formation of a new model of personnel training – training people with additional competencies, the speaker added.

In addition, Evgeny Shlyakhto spoke about the need to create risk management centers and monitoring centers that will allow healthcare managers to receive information about the structure of patients, the nature and timeliness of medical care, and the load on hospitals.

“The three main promising technologies that will allow us to develop are telemedicine, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. Telemedicine is extremely important – it includes emergency care, treatment of chronic diseases, and rehabilitation. There is a shift towards home-based care, and digital transformation will allow doctors to better monitor patients and reach more people. Informatization will lead us to preventive cardiology – the focus should be on primary prevention, prevention of the development of the risk factors themselves. Innovation, integration of science and industry will help us to make St. Petersburg a city with a personalized healthcare system,” the speaker emphasized.

Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the City Improvement of St. Petersburg Larisa Kanunnikova presented the work of the city authorities in the field of creating public spaces and improving the environment. According to her, new recreational spaces are being created in St. Petersburg that help citizens and tourists lead a healthier lifestyle. Among such places are the embankment of the Karpovka River, the Yuzhnaya Road on Krestovsky Island, New Holland Island, Zanevsky Park and many others.

The speaker noted that the city has switched to perennial plants, creating comfortable green areas, as well as sports and children's playgrounds, and areas for walking dogs. Medical specialists are involved in the landscaping processes as consultants.

Deputy Chairman of the City Committee for Environmental Management, Environmental Protection and Environmental Security Ivan Serebritsky presented a report on the topic “Comprehensive system of monitoring the state of the environment in St. Petersburg and prospects for its development for the period until 2030”.

The speaker spoke on the large regulatory framework regulating the activities of environmentalists, and noted that environmental monitoring in Russia is carried out in 15 areas. He presented a territorial monitoring system in St. Petersburg, which includes monitoring of atmospheric air, soil, surface and ground water, flora and fauna, etc.

“We feel involved in preserving the health of city residents,” he noted.

The plenary session was also attended by a member of the National Council of Experts on Rare Diseases, a member of the Expert Council of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on health protection on rare (orphan) diseases, lawyer Natalia Smirnova.

The meeting was moderated by the First Deputy Chairman of the Healthcare Committee Andrey Sarana.

Participants noted that the development of urban healthcare requires joint and coordinated work of different departments. At the same time, they emphasized, it is necessary to train a new generation of personnel – specialists who are not only capable of using existing technologies, but also are ready to develop new solutions.