subscribe to news Strategy session presented trends in modern medicine during the pandemic

Today, Russian Health Care Week 2021 featured the Strategic Session on the Modern Medicine: the Post-Pandemic Technology. It was organised by the Russian State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, the Research Institute of Health Care and Medical Management of the Moscow City Department of Health Care, and EXPOCENTRE AO. 

The session was devoted to the development of modern medicine and the role of technology in the transformation of health care. It was moderated by Deputy Chair at the Russian State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education and Chair at the Organising Committee of NTI Expo Vladimir Kononov, and Director of the Research Institute of Health Care and Medical Management of the Moscow City Department of Health Care Elena Aksenova. 

"The last few years have been momentous for the development of medicine. The Covid-19 pandemic predetermined the need for active development of digital health care, lightning-fast emergence of new diagnostic and treatment techniques, implementation of technological devices for human monitoring and treatment," said Vladimir Kononov. According to him, in 2019, the global market of medical smart technologies reached about $175 billion, and by 2026 it will quadruple and exceed $650 billion. The global health care market is developing rapidly. There is a transition from the era of scaling systems for all to more sophisticated and point solutions such as biomarkers, genomics, proteomics, gene editing, and CAR-T cell therapy. 

“As part of the implementation of the National Health Care Project, medical science has recently taken a special place. Scientific advances are planned in relation to the needs of the sector. In the near future, the Russian Ministry of Health Care will create a digital platform that will bring together researchers such as clinicians and developers of technological products”, said Mr. Kononov. 

The session participants talked about how new technologies for medicine were born, how the global market for medical technology solutions was developing and what prospects awaited health care, and which trends in health care development in Russia and around the world were becoming defining. The participants included heads of the Russian Ministries of Health Care, Science and Higher Education, and Industry and Trade, leading research centres of the Russian Ministry of Health Care and the Russian Academy of Sciences, health authorities at various levels, researchers, medical professionals, and practicing doctors. 

First Deputy Chair at the Committee on Health Care and Health Protection of the Russian State Duma Leonid Ogul highlighted the session’s significance. He stressed that “the success of modern medicine is inextricably linked to the introduction of new formats for the delivery of medical services to people and the development of the digitalization of the health care system. With the help of interdisciplinary cooperation, it is important to work out an effective concept on implementation of scientific developments and information technologies in practical health care, industrial production and social sphere. The ongoing session is aimed at a completely new innovative direction." 

Mr. Ogul talked about the creation of a fund through which consultations are held and medical products are procured. In order for new technologies to be domestically produced, a state order is needed. There is a lack of available scientific information. This session will help to come up with proposals to lawmakers.

There is a so called valley of death in various sectors, which is a gap between scientific advances and medical technologies implemented in clinical practice. Igor Korobko, Director of the Department of Science and Innovative Development of Health Care at the Russian Ministry of Health Care, spoke by video link about the Ministry's attention to eliminating the valley of death. He drew attention to how the pandemic had affected the speed of development and implementation of new medical technologies in Russia, and presented successful cases.

Vadim Medvedev, Director of the Department of Innovation and Advanced Research of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, pointed out systemic measures to be taken in the near future to change the situation in science, and measures to support scientists that were already being applied by the ministry. 

Russia is implementing a government programme that aims to provide a comprehensive approach to addressing the priorities facing the domestic pharmaceutical and medical industries. Has the government's approach to the development of new medical equipment changed during the pandemic? Ekaterina Shishkina, Deputy Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, focused on this in her video link presentation. 

Tatiana Batysheva, Head External Expert in Paediatric Medical Rehabilitation in the Russian Ministry of Health Care, Head External Expert in Paediatric Neurology of the Moscow City Department of Health Care, Director of the Research and Practical Centre of Paediatric Psyconeurology of the Moscow City Department of Health Care, commented on what technologies appeared during the pandemic and how they can be used after the pandemic. 

In Moscow, during the pandemic, much has been done to develop health care, which can now be freely called digital. Larisa Kartavtseva, Head of the Commission on Social Policy and Labour Relations of the Moscow City Duma, talked about how Moscow managed to make a breakthrough in this direction in such a short time, how society feels about new technologies in healthcare, and whether there are fears that new solutions will affect the quality of medical care negatively.

Vice President of Sberbank Yuri Krestinsky devoted his presentation to the digital health care in a time of pandemic, which includes not only telemedicine, but also smart equipment. The attention of the audience was also attracted by the speech of General Director of RT-Medicine, Professor, Dr. Igor Maximov on the topic of telemedicine technologies as one of the most striking trends in modern health care. 

The session was continued by Director of the Fund of the Skolkovo International Medical Cluster Ildar Khairullin, Deputy Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Ministry of Health Care Pavel Vandyshev, Director of iPavlov, Executive Director of the Research Center of Shvabe at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Director of Applied Software Development at the NTI Centre of Competencies for Artificial Intelligence Loran Akopyan, and other experts.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO