III National Congress with international participation “National Healthcare 2024” took place in Moscow on October 28-29

The event was organized by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Roscongress Foundation and RIH.
The event was attended by 4 official foreign delegations headed by Ministers of Health.
During the Congress, representatives of foreign delegations visited a number of advanced medical federal centers and research institutes to familiarize themselves with their work. In particular, visits were made to:

• FSBI “National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
• FSBI “National Medical Research Radiological Center” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
• FSBI “National Medical Research Center of Transplantology and Artificial Organs named after Academician V.I. Shumakov” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
• FSBI “National Medical Research Center of Surgery named after A.V. Vishnevsky” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
• SBHI “Municipal Clinical Hospital No.15 named after O. M. Filatov of Moscow Health Department”
• SBHI "Scientific and Practical Clinical Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine Technologies of Moscow Health Department”

The National Congress with international participation was held for the third consecutive year. During this time, the venue has become a place for making important decisions that improve the healthcare system.

On the first day, the Congress participants discussed the implementation of new federal projects in the field of demography and healthcare, the development of domestic medicines and technologies, the preservation of human resources and other topics.

“When we held the first Congress, our staffing was focused on pandemic issues”, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko addressed the participants. “Today we face another challenges. But medical workers are similarly saving people's lives. And therefore, in three years, the forum has brought together more than 10 thousand representatives of medical organizations and the most advanced, outstanding specialists in the field of healthcare. And, of course, it contributed to healthcare system improvement”.

“We rely on traditions, but at the same time we implement innovations, make new scientific discoveries, introduce modern public health technologies. And, of course, first of all, human-centeredness”, the Minister emphasized.

The agenda of the Congress also included issues of medical care accessibility, public involvement in state policy implementation in the field of healthcare, ensuring sanitary safety, modern medical products and much more. The issue of managerial personnel development was the topic of the session moderated by Olga Kobyakova, RIH Director.

“Training, cultivation, retention of healthcare managers is among the most important components in ensuring the quality and accessibility of medical care. There are about 10 thousand heads of medical organizations in public and private healthcare system in Russia. Together with their deputies, there are about 45 thousand people. And people's satisfaction with medical care largely depends on how professional these people will be, how well they will be able to organize teamwork on the ground”, said Olga Kobyakova.

“The best practices that we are talking about today also existed in Soviet times. These were schools of excellence, where the algorithm was slightly different and it was associated with the fact that these best practices were approved by the Ministry. Then a definite plan was drawn. It was connected with the realization of the regions' opportunities to get acquainted with these practices”, said Vladimir Starodubov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, RIH Scientific Director.

On the second day, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Congress participants. In his speech, the President emphasized the country’s growing technological sovereignty and plans to further “build up the sustainability and independence of the Russian healthcare system”.

“Many recommendations that are developed at your forum, which has already earned high professional recognition, are considered in the activities of federal and regional authorities and are widely implemented in medical institutions. And the exchange of experience with foreign participants of the Congress mutually enriches the practice of organizing national health care systems”, said Vladimir Putin.

The main issues in the President's speech were the implementation of new national healthcare projects aimed at providing opportunities for improving the well-being and quality of life of Russians, increasing their life expectancy, and strengthening public health. The President also stressed the importance of strengthening and developing the healthcare system, improving and upgrading primary health care.

Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and hepatitis C control, the introduction of innovative treatment methods, including the use of artificial intelligence technologies, support for medical science and technology, including research in the field of longevity, disease prevention, remuneration of medical workers – these issues were also addressed in Vladimir Putin's speech.

The peculiarity of this Congress was its dedication to one of the most famous organizers, the first People's Commissar of Health Nikolai Aleksandrovich Semashko, who laid the foundations of the world's first state healthcare system and formed a hierarchical state centralized model with the district principle of primary health care, which was subsequently implemented in many countries of the world (Great Britain, Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and others).

During 2 days of the Congress, more than 25 panel discussions on key health saving issues were organized, which were attended by more than 6 000 people from 15 countries, as well as more than 13 000 online participants.

Among the participants of the panel discussions were opinion leaders in the field of healthcare, representatives of federal executive authorities of the Russian Federation, healthcare industry experts, heads of government agencies, major research centers, medical and pharmaceutical companies.