Russians save a lot – Newspaper Kommersant No. 45 (7490) of 03/17/2023

The number of purchases of medical services in Russia in 2022 fell by 21%, sales in monetary terms decreased by 12%. This conclusion was made by the experts of SberZdorovya and OFD Platform after analyzing 55 million cash receipts. At the same time, the average check for private medical services in Russia increased by 9% compared to 2021, and in Moscow this figure increased immediately by 19%, to 7,865 rubles. Experts attribute this trend to a decrease in demand for COVID tests, CT scans and other “relatively inexpensive” procedures, and the drop in sales is due to the desire of Russians to save money.

The SberHealth online medical service, together with the Check Index analytical resource of the OFD Platform (the largest operator of fiscal data that processes 50–55 million cash receipts daily from more than 1.1 million online cash registers in Russia), analyzed the commercial medicine in Russia. The authors of the study found that the number of purchases of medical services in the country in 2022 decreased by 21% compared to 2021, sales in monetary terms – by 12%. At the same time, the number of visits to doctors in private clinics in 2022 remained practically unchanged. The fall in the number of purchases and sales, experts at SberHealth, explain the reduction in spending by citizens on laboratory tests and diagnostics. In their opinion, this is a consequence of a decrease in the incidence of coronavirus infection – a decrease in the number of tests, unscheduled CT scans and the level of anxiety of citizens.

The average check for private medical services reached RUB 3,376, which is 9% higher than in 2021. Most of all, it grew in Moscow, up to 7865 rubles – 19% more than a year earlier. The main reason for the increase in the average check, according to the authors of the analysis, was a decrease in the number of purchases of relatively inexpensive services – mainly testing for coronavirus. In addition, there was an increase in costs on the part of clinics due to the rise in prices for a number of materials, medicines and equipment. However, according to SberHealth, with the development of parallel imports and the selection of analogues in the domestic market, the situation improved markedly by the end of the year.

Dentistry services remain the most expensive: the average check in this segment in 2022 increased by 25% and reached 6,305 rubles. Despite this, the number of purchases decreased slightly – by 3%. The top purchases of dental services included fillings, anesthesia, oral imaging, as well as orthodontist consultations on the maintenance of braces.

Commenting on the results of the study, Alexander Orinovsky, Managing Director of the online medical service SberHealth, notes that the private medicine market was quite stable at the end of last year: the patient flow decreased, but slightly, analogues were quickly found for consumables. Earlier, Kommersant, having studied the reports of large networks of private clinics for the first half of 2022, found out that the number of outpatient visits to patients had indeed decreased. Thus, in the European Medical Center, the indicator decreased by 19.1%, to 238.3 thousand, in the Mother and Child network – by 2.1%, to 878.5 thousand. In the Nearmedic network, according to his medical director Dmitry Melnik, outpatient services were reduced by 6% year-on-year.

“The market is still adapting – often new projects are put on hold for the time being,” continues Mr. Orinovsky. “Many clinics are reorienting themselves to more affordable pricing strategies, and network clinics are being enlarged. Some are pooling resources to reduce costs, and thus cost, and to increase the number of services available.”

Aleksey Remez, director of the Point of Care clinic network, says that the surge in interest in private medicine happened “as part of testing for coronavirus.” “I would even say this: if it weren’t for private medicine, then it would be impossible to achieve such a wide coverage of the population with testing for COVID,” says Mr. Remez. as long as there were no privateers there. Now, in his opinion, there are two reasons for the decline in interest in the services of commercial clinics “out of a number of existing ones”: demand is returning to the “pre-pandemic” format, and citizens have begun to save money.

“Turning to a doctor and receiving a full examination plan, the patient is forced to choose from the entire list of only a few services and often determines the set on his own,” explains Anna Rybakova, head physician of one of the Nearmedic clinics. “In other words, in 2021, providing the client with five services for 1,000 rubles, we had an average check of 1,000 rubles, and in 2022 – after raising the price list and reducing the “consumer basket” – three services for 1,500 rubles. give an average check of 1500 rubles.

Larisa Popovich, director of the Institute of Health Economics at the Higher School of Economics, points to the “flow of clients into the VHI segment.” “But, of course, effective demand has now also fallen. And people do not buy a check-up from doctors, but more urgent and inaccessible options in the state segment, ”concludes Ms. Popovich.

Natalya Kostarnova